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CCEXRIGHT DEPOSffi 



TH E, 

Troublefome Raigne 

of John King of England y with the dit- 

couene of I\ing Richard Cordelions 

Bafe fonne (Vulgarly named, The Ba- 

ftardFawconbndge) • al/bthe 

death of King John at Smnjtead 
*s4bboy 

As it T»as (fundrytimes ) publicly aSted by the 

Queenes ^Maiesltes T layers^ in the ho- 

nourable Qtie of 

London. 




Imprinted at London for Sampfon Qarkfy 

andare to befolde at his /hop, on the backe- 

fide of (h*.RoyaU fxchattge. 



I S 9 i 



Title-Page of the Source-Quarto 



~P7?2 



Az 



Entered at Stationers' Hall 



Copyright, 18S0 
By HENRY N. HUDSON 



Copyright, 1908 
By KATE W. HUDSON 



Copyright, 1916 
By GINN AND COMPANY 



ALL RIGHTS RESERVED 



716.7 




SEP -7 1916 



GINN AND COMPANY • PRO- 
PRIETORS • BOSTON • U.S.A. 



©CU4:S7574 



PREFACE 

The text of this edition of King John is based on a colla- 
tion of the seventeenth century Folios, the Globe edition, 
the Cambridge (W. A. Wright) edition of 1891, and that 
of Delius (1882). As compared with the text of the earlier 
editions of Hudson's Shakespeare, it is conservative. Ex- 
clusive of changes in spelling, punctuation, and stage direc- 
tions, very few emendations by eighteenth century and 
nineteenth century editors have been adopted; and these, 
with the more important variations from the First Folio, 
are indicated in the textual notes. These notes are printed 
immediately below the text, so that a reader or student 
may see at a glance the evidence in the case of a dis- 
puted reading, and have some definite understanding of the 
reasons for those differences in the text of Shakespeare 
which frequently surprise and very often annoy. Such an 
arrangement should be of special help in the case of plays 
so universally read and frequently acted, as actors and inter- 
preters seldom agree in adhering to one text. A considera- 
tion of the more poetical, or the more dramatically effective, 
of two variant readings will often lead to rich results in 
awakening a spirit of discriminating interpretation and in 
developing true creative criticism. In no sense is this a 
textual variorum edition. The variants given are only those 
of importance and high authority. 



vi THE NEW HUDSON SHAKESPEARE 

The spelling and the punctuation of the text are modern, 
except in the case of verb terminations in -ed, which, when 
the e is silent, are printed with the apostrophe in its place. 
This is the general usage in the First Folio. The important 
contractions in the First Folio which may indicate Elizabethan 
pronunciation (' i'th" for 'in the,' 'cank'red' for 'canker'd,' 
for example) are also followed. Modern spelling has to a cer- 
tain extent been adopted in the text variants, but the original 
spelling has been retained wherever its peculiarities have been 
the basis for important textual criticism and emendation. 

With the exception of the position of the textual variants, 
the plan of this edition is similar to that of the old Hudson 
Shakespeare. It is impossible to specify the various instances 
of revision and rearrangement in the matter of the Introduc- 
tion and the interpretative notes, but the endeavor has been 
to retain all that gave the old edition its unique place and to 
add the results of what seems vital and permanent in later 
inquiry and research. In this edition, as in the volumes of 
the series already published, the chapters entitled Sources, 
Date of Composition, Early Editions, Versification and Diction, 
Duration of Action, Dramatic Construction and Develop- 
ment with Analysis by Act and Scene, Historical Connec- 
tions with Genealogical Chart, and Stage History are wholly 
new. In this edition, too, is introduced a chronological chart, 
covering the important events of Shakespeare's life as man 
and as author, and indicating in parallel columns his relation 
to contemporary writers and events. As a guide to read- 
ing clubs and literary societies, there has been appended to 
the Introduction a table of the distribution of characters in 
the play, giving the acts and scenes in which each character 
appears and the number of lines spoken by each. The index 



PREFACE vii 

of words and phrases has been so arranged as to serve both 
as a glossary and as a guide to the more important gram- 
matical differences between Elizabethan and modern English. 
While it is important that the principle of suum cuique be 
attended to so far as is possible in matters of research and 
scholarship, it is becoming more and more difficult to give 
every man his own in Shakespearian annotation. The amount 
of material accumulated is so great that the identity-origin 
of much important comment and suggestion is either wholly 
lost or so crushed out of shape as to be beyond recognition. 
Instructive significance perhaps attaches to this in editing the 
works of one who quietly made so much of materials gath- 
ered by others. But the list of authorities given on page Ivii 
will indicate the chief source of much that has gone to enrich 
the value of this edition. Especial acknowledgment is here 
made of the obligations to Dr. William Aldis Wright, whose 
work in the collation of Quartos, Folios, and the more 
important English and American editions of Shakespeare 
has been of so great value to all subsequent editors and 
investigators. 



CONTENTS 



INTRODUCTION 

Page 

I. Sources xi 

The Troublesome Raigne xii 

Holinshed's Chronicles xv 

Other Sources xvi 

II. Date of Composition xvi 

External Evidence xvi 

Internal Evidence xvii 

III. Early Editions xix 

Folios xix 

Rowe's Editions xix 

IV. Versification and Diction xx 

Blank Verse xx 

Alexandrines xxii 

Rhyme xxii 

Prose xxiii 

V. Duration of Action xxiii 

P. A. Daniel's Time Analysis xxiv 

VI. Dramatic Construction and Development . . . xxv 

Analysis by Act and Scene xxviii 

VII. Historical Connections xxxi 

English Genealogical Tables xxxiv 

French Genealogical Table xxxviii 

ix 



X THE NEW HUDSON SHAKESPEARE 

Page 

VIII. The Characters xl 

John xlii 

Constance xlvi 

Prince Arthur xlix 

Faulconbridge 1 

IX. Stage History liv 

Authorities (with Abbreviations) lvii 

Chronological Chart Iviii 

Distribution of Characters lxii 

THE TEXT 

Act I 3 

Act II 17 

Act III 44 

Act IV 71 

Act V 96 

Index of Words and Phrases 121 

FACSIMILE 
Title-Page of the Source-Quarto Frontispiece 



INTRODUCTION 

Note. In citations from Shakespeare's plays and nondramatic 
poems the numbering has reference to the Globe edition, except in 
the case of this play, where the reference is to this edition. 

I. SOURCES 

The serious Elizabethan drama began in patriotism and 
had a high political motive. The perils and difficulties of a 
nation rent asunder by bitterly opposing factions confronted 
Elizabeth at the beginning of her reign, and when Thomas 
Sackville and Thomas Norton wrote Goi'boduc, their main 
object was to warn the English people of the danger in a 
kingdom divided against itself and to show the maiden queen 
the perils involved in uncertainty as to legitimate succession 
to a throne. With that steady growth of national spirit 
which characterized the reign of Elizabeth, developed the taste 
for chronicle plays dealing with the history of the nation in 
its formative period. The national drama grew up with the 
increasing pride of nation. In the defeat of the Armada this 
pride of nation reached full tide, and the enthusiasm found 
immortal expression in Shakespeare's ten history plays. 

The reign of King John had a peculiar attraction for 
Elizabethan dramatists, for it was fruitful of events affecting 
the claims and usages of the mediaeval Church. This aptness 
of the matter caused it to be early and largely used in fur- 
thering the great ecclesiastical revolution of the sixteenth 
century. Some of the leading events of the reign — John's 



xii THE NEW HUDSON SHAKESPEARE 

disputes with the pope, the sufferings of his kingdom under 
the interdict, the surrender of his crown to the legate, and his 
reputed death by poison — were used, or abused, in a way 
to suit the time and purpose of the writer, by John Bale, a 
Protestant bishop, in a peculiar fusion of Moral and Historical 
play called Kynge Johan, which was probably written in the 
time of Edward VI. The design of this singular performance 
was to promote the Reformation, of which Bale was a strenu- 
ous and unscrupulous supporter. The historical characters 
are the king himself, Pope Innocent the Third, Pandulf, 
Langton, Simon of Swinsett (Swinstead), and a monk called 
Raymundus. Mingled with these are various allegorical 
personages, — England, who is said to be a widow, Imperial 
Majesty, Nobility, Clergy, Civil Order, Treason, Dissimula- 
tion, Verity, and Sedition, the latter serving as the Jester of the 
piece. Thus we have the common material of the old Moral 
plays rudely combined with some elements of the Historical 
drama such as grew into use on the public stage forty or fifty 
years later. Kynge Johan, though written by a bishop, teems 
with the lowest ribaldry and vituperation, and is barren of any- 
thing that can pretend to the name of poetry or wit. It is im- 
probable that Shakespeare knew of this old play at first hand. 
There is no trace of its having been acted in Elizabeth's reign, 
and it remained in manuscript until the nineteenth century. 1 
i . The Troublesome Raigne of John, King of England. The 
true literary source of Shakespeare's King John is a play of 
unknown authorship, usually called The Troublesome Raigne, 
first printed in 1591 with the title-page which is reproduced 
in facsimile on page ii. The Troublesome Raigne was printed 

1 Kynge Johan was printed for the first time by the Camden 
Society in 1838. 



INTRODUCTION xiii 

again in 1611 with the following title-page: THE | First 
and second Part of | the troublesome Raigne of | John King 
of England. | With the discoverie of King Richard Cor-|delions 
Base sonne (vulgarly named, the Bastard | Fawconbridge :) 
Also, the death of King Ioh?i | at Swinstead Abbey. | As 
they were {sundry times) lately acted by \ the Queeiies Maiesties 
Players. | Written by W. Sh. | [printer's ornament] | Im- 
printed at London by Valentine Simmes for Iohn Helme, | 
and are to be sold at his Shop in Saint Dunstons | Church- 
yard in Fleete Street. | 1 6 1 1 . | The interesting fact brought 
out by these two title-pages is the anonymous character of the 
first edition and the strange claim made for the second by 
the words " written by W. Sh." A later edition (1622) boldly 
claims the play to be the work of William Shakespeare, 
the title-page reading as follows : THE | First and second 
Part of I the troublesome Raigne of | Iohn King of England. | 
With the discoverie of Ki?ig Richard Cor-|delions Base 
sonne (vulgarly named, the Bastard | Fauconbridge ;) Also 
the death of King | Iohn at Swinstead Abbey. | As they were 
{sundry times) lately acted. | Written by W. Shakespeare. | 
[Printer's Device] | London, | Printed by Aug : Mathewes 
for Thomas Dewe, and are to | be sold at his shop in St. 
Dunstones Church-yard in Fleet-street, 1622. | 

The attempt to palm off The Troublesome Raigne as Shake- 
speare's King fohn, of which no Quarto had appeared, seems 
now an obvious commercial trick, but some critics have 
upheld the Shakespearian authorship. Tieck declared not 
only that every line showed the master's hand, but that 
on the whole The Troublesome Raigne as a drama was 
superior to King fohn • and Coleridge pronounced it "not 
[Shakespeare's] but of him." Modern critics, with few 



xiv THE NEW HUDSON SHAKESPEARE 

exceptions, 1 are agreed that Shakespeare could have had no 
part in the writing of the older play. 2 

This Source-Quarto bears strong internal marks of having 
been written when the enthusiasm of the nation was wrought 
up to an intense pitch over the Spanish Armada, and when 
Elizabeth and the papacy were actively hostile toward each 
other. Abounding in spoken and acted satire and invective, 
the play must have appealed strongly to that national feeling 
which issued in the Reformation, and which was strengthened 
afterwards by the means used to put the Reformation down. 
But, as the Cambridge editors point out, the author of the 
Source-Quarto " not only disregarded chronology, but invented, 
altered, or ignored the facts with the greatest freedom. Like 
Bale, though to a less degree, he gave his work an anti-papal 
bias. He invented the part played by the Bastard Faulcon- 
bridge ; he combined in one person the Archduke of Austria, 
who had imprisoned Richard I and was dead at the time of 
the play, with the Viscount of Limoges, before whose castle 
Cceur-de-lion had received his mortal wound ; he made Arthur 
younger than he was, and kept Constance a widow, for pur- 
poses of dramatic effectiveness ; and he omitted all mention of 
Magna Charta, and with it of the constitutional element in the 
quarrel between John and his barons. Such are only a few 
of the violations of historical accuracy which mark almost 
every scene." 

It is noteworthy that the spirit of religious controversy, 
which makes itself felt in both of the older pieces, finds no 

1 Professor W.J. Courthope gives the authorship to Shakespeare. 

2 The reference on the title-pages of The Troublesome Raigne to 
" the Queenes Maiesties Players " led Fleay to believe the play may 
have been the joint composition of Greene, Lodge, and Peele — the 
only dramatists known to have been connected with this company. 



INTRODUCTION xv 

place in Shakespeare's play. Shakespeare does not depict a 
Protestant spirit — only the natural feelings of a sound, honest 
English patriotism, resolute to withstand alike all foreign 
encroachments, whether from kings or emperors or popes. 
In justice to The Troublesome Raigne it should be pointed 
out that the patriotic tone of Shakespeare's play is hardly 
less strong than that of his original, as is illustrated by the 
closing passage, quoted below, which has been almost literally 
followed by Shakespeare : 

Thus England's peace begins in Henry's reign, 
And bloody wars are closed with happy league. 
Let England live but true within itself, 
And all the world can never wrong her state. 
Lewis, thou shalt be bravely shipt to France 
For never Frenchman got of English ground 
The twentieth part that thou hast conquered. 

If England's peers and people join in one, 

Nor Pope, nor France, nor Spain, can do them wrong. 

2. Holinshed s Chronicles. In all his plays dealing with 
English history, Shakespeare either directly or indirectly 
derived the great body of his material from the Chronicles 
of England, Scotland, and Ireland, of Raphael Holinshed 
(Holynshed, Hollynshed, Hollingshead, etc.), first published 
in two folio volumes in 1577. A second edition appeared in 
158 6- 1587, "newlie augmented and continued." 1 In most of 
the historical plays, Shakespeare's deviations from Holinshed 
have been chiefly in the interests of dramatic economy and 
artistic effectiveness, but in King John Holinshed has been 

1 In W. G. Boswell-Stone's Shakspere's Holinshed are given all 
the portions of the Chronicles which are of special interest to the 
Shakespeare student. 



xvi THE NEW HUDSON SHAKESPEARE 

followed both in general plan and in details only so far as 
the unknown author of The Troublesome Raigne follows it. 

3. Other Sources. Proof that Shakespeare made use of 
any source other than The Troublesome Raigne is lacking. 
Painstaking comparison of the various texts seems, how- 
ever, to indicate the possibility of Shakespeare's having gone 
for minor details to such works as Stow's Annals 1 (1580). 
Moore Smith points out that the scene of the poisoning of 
John, while correctly given by Holinshed as " Swineshead," 
appears as "Swinstead" in both Stow's Annals and Ras- 
tell's Chronicle} A large number of such instances might be 
regarded as constituting evidence, but little importance can 
attach to a few cases of this kind. 

II. DATE OF COMPOSITION 

The date of composition of King John falls within 1598, 
the later time limit {terminus ante quern), and 1591, the ear- 
lier time limit {terminus post quern). The weight of evidence 
is in favor of 1593-1594- 

External Evidence 

1 . Negative. King John, like The Taming oj the Shrew, 
is missing from the list of plays given in The Stationers' 

1 Annates, or a Generate Chronicle of England from Brute until the 
present yeare of Christ 1380. John Stow (Stowe) was one of the ear- 
liest and most diligent collectors of English antiquities. In addition 
to the preparation of several volumes of which the Annals was one, 
he assisted in the continuation of Holinshed's Chronicles. 

2 The Pasty me of People ; The Chronycles of dy iters Realmys and 
most specyally of the Pealme of Englonde (1529). Of this work by 
John Rastell (Rastall), printer and author, the British Museum copy 
is the only perfect copy known. 



INTRODUCTION xvii 

Registers. Since all the other plays of Shakespeare have 
been discovered among the entries, this exception is of 
especial interest. 

2. Positive. Francis Meres, however, mentions King John 
in the Palladis Tamia, Wits Treasury; being the Second Part 
oJWits Commonwealth, published in 1598, in which he gives 
a list of twelve noteworthy Shakespeare plays in existence 
at that time. He expressly refers to "Richard the 2, Richard 
the 3, Henry the 4, King John." This clearly establishes 
1598 as the later time limit, although between this date and 
the publication of the First Folio, in 1623, no references to 
this play have come to light. 

Internal Evidence 

1 . Allusions within the Play. Several allusions within the 
play are held by critics to throw light on the question of date 
of composition. The lines 

Have sold their fortunes at their native homes, 
Bearing their birthrights proudly on their backs. 

[II, i, 69-70] 

were believed by Malone to refer to the sailing in 1596 of 
the grand fleet against Spain, for, as he points out, " Many 
of our old historians speak of the splendour and magnificence 
displayed by the noble and gallant adventurers who served 
in this expedition ; and Ben Jonson has particularly alluded 
to it in his Silent Woman, written a few years afterwards." 
But this passage, like the lament of Constance (III, iv), which 
is held to reflect the grief of Shakespeare at the death of his 
son Hamnet in 1596, cannot be regarded as contributing 
trustworthy support for so late a date. 



xviii THE NEW HUDSON SHAKESPEARE 

Marshall 1 refers to a passage in Kyd's Spanish Tragedy or 
The Second Part of feronimo, licensed in 1592, which seems 
to have reference to what has been partly reproduced in 
the speech of the Bastard (II, i, 137-138): 

You are the hare of whom the proverb goes, 
Whose valour plucks dead lions by the beard. 

In the tragedy here referred to, the passage runs : 

He hunted well, that was a lion's death ; 
Not he that in a garment wore his skin : 
So hares may pull dead lions by the beard. 

The close resemblance here found can scarcely be regarded 
as accidental. 

2. Style and Diction. The diction of King John, the qual- 
ity of the blank verse, the use of rhyme, the absence of 
prose, the predominance of epic interest over dramatic, the 
complete freedom from the influence of Marlowe, the intro- 
duction of the comic element, and the general spirit of the 
play, all help to prove the contention that the date of com- 
position falls within the same general period of time (1593- 
1594) to which King Richard the Seco?id belongs. It cannot 
be said with certainty which of the two plays is the earlier, 
but in spite of its close adherence to its * source,' King John 
bears many evidences of a somewhat less mature workman- 
ship than King Richard the Second. The evidence for the 
priority of King John is greatly strengthened by the quality 
of the characterization, which is everywhere less natural and 
less inevitable than that of King Richard the Second. 

1 F. A. Marshall, in his Introduction to King John in the Henry- 
Irving Shakespeare. 



INTRODUCTION xix 

III. EARLY EDITIONS 
Folios 

King John was first printed, so far as is known, in the 
collected edition of Shakespeare's dramas published in 1623. 
This is the famous First Folio, designated in the textual 
notes of this edition as F v and is the most important single 
volume in the history of the texts of Shakespeare. King John 
occupies pages 1 to 22, inclusive, in the division of the book 
devoted to ' Histories,' the plays of which are arranged in 
chronological sequence from The life and death of King John, 
as it is called in the running title, to The Famous History 
of the Life of King Henry the Eight. It is the only authen- 
tic play of Shakespeare that is not named in The Stationers' 
Registers. Even Blount and Jaggard fail to mention it in 
the long list of plays among "soe manie of the said copies as 
are not formerly ent'red to other men," given in the Regis- 
ters under date of November 8, 1623, when these publishers 
were preparing to issue their collective edition of the poet's 
works. 

The Second Folio, F 2 (1632), the Third Folio, F 3 (1663, 
1664), and the Fourth Folio, F 4 (1685), show few variants 
in the text of King John, and none of importance. 

Rowe's Editions 

The first critical editor of Shakespeare's plays was Nicholas 
Rowe, poet laureate to George I. His first edition was issued 
in 1709 in six octavo volumes. In this edition Rowe, an ex- 
perienced playwright, marked the entrances and exits of the 
characters and introduced many stage directions. He also 



xx THE NEW HUDSON SHAKESPEARE 

introduced the list of dramatis personam which has been made 
the basis for all later lists. A second edition in eight volumes 
was published in 1 7 1 4. Rowe followed very closely the text 
of the Fourth Folio, but modernized spelling, punctuation, 
and occasionally grammar. 

IV. VERSIFICATION AND DICTION 

Blank Verse 

King John is written wholly in verse and for the most part 
in blank verse 1 — the unrhymed iambic five-stress (decasyl- 
labic) verse, or iambic pentameter, introduced into England 
from Italy by Henry Howard, Earl of Surrey, about 1540, 
and used by him in a translation of the second and fourth 
books of Vergil's AL?ieid. Nicholas Grimald (TottePs Mis- 
cellany, 1557) employed the measure for the first time in 
English original poetry, and its roots began to strike deep 
into British soil and absorb substance. It is peculiarly sig- 
nificant that Sackville and Norton should have used it as the 
measure of Gorboduc, the first English tragedy (performed 
by "the Gentlemen of the Inner Temple" on January 18, 
1 56 1, and first printed in 1565). About the time when 
Shakespeare arrived in London the infinite possibilities of 
blank verse as a vehicle for dramatic poetry and passion 
were being shown by Kyd, and above all by Marlowe. Blank 
verse as used by Shakespeare is really an epitome of the 

1 The term ' blank verse ' was just coming into use in Shakespeare's 
day. It seems to have been used for the first time in literature in 
Nash's Preface to Greene's Menaphon, where we find the expression, 
"the swelling bumbast of bragging blanke verse." Shakespeare uses 
the expression three times, always humorously or satirically (see 
Much Ado About Nothing, V, ii, 32). 



INTRODUCTION xxi 

development of the measure in connection with the English 
drama. In his earlier plays the blank verse is often similar 
to that of Gorboduc. The tendency is to adhere to the syllable- 
counting principle, to make the line the unit, the sentence and 
phrase coinciding with the line (end-stopped verse), and to 
use five perfect iambic feet to the line. In plays of the mid- 
dle period, such as The Merchant of Venice and As You Like It, 
written between 1596 and 1600, the blank verse is more like 
that of Kyd and Marlowe, with less monotonous regularity 
in the structure and an increasing tendency to carry on the 
sense from one line to another with a syntactical or rhetorical 
pause at the end of the line (run-on verse, enjambemenf). 
Redundant syllables now abound, and the melody is richer 
and fuller. In Shakespeare's later plays the blank verse 
breaks away from bondage to formal line limits, and sweeps 
all with it in freedom, power, and organic unity. 

The verse of King John is more monotonously regular 
than that of the later plays ; it is less flexible and varied, less 
musical and sonorous, and it lacks the superb movement of 
the verse in Othello, The Winter's Tale, and The Tempest. 
End-stopped, normally regular iambic pentameter lines are 
abundant. Short lines are repeatedly used for interrupted 
and exclamatory remarks, as in I, i, 47 ; IV, i, 71 ; V, vi, 3. 
There are no weak endings and only seven light endings, 1 the 
play in this respect resembling the earlier plays. 

1 Light endings, as defined by Ingram, are such words as am, can, 
do, has, I, thotc, etc., on which " the voice can to a certain small 
extent dwell"; weak endings are words like and, for, from, if, in, 
of or, which " are so essentially proclitic . . . that we are forced to 
run them, in pronunciation no less than in sense, into the closest 
connection with the opening words of the succeeding line." 



xxii THE NEW HUDSON SHAKESPEARE 

Alexandrines 

While French prosodists apply the term ' Alexandrine ' only 
to a twelve-syllable line, with the pause after the sixth syllable, 
it is generally used in English to designate iambic six-stress 
verse, or iambic hexameter, of which we have examples in 
II, i, 177, and III, iii, 71. This was a favorite Elizabethan 
measure, and it was common in Moral plays and the earlier 
heroic drama. English literature has no finer examples of this 
verse than the last line of each stanza of The Faerie Queene. 

Rhyme 

In the history of the English drama, rhyme as a vehicle of 
expression precedes blank verse and prose. Miracle plays, 
Moral plays, and interludes are all in rhyming measures. In 
Shakespeare may be seen the same development. A progress 
from more to less rhyme is a sure index to his growth as 
a dramatist and a master of expression. In the early Love's 
Labour's Lost are more than 500 rhyming five-stress iambic 
couplets ; in Much Ado About Nothing are only 20 ; in the 
very late The Winter's Tale there is not one. 1 

1. Couplets. In King John are about 150 lines of rhymed 
pentameter verse and most of these are * rhyme-tags ' at the 
end either of scenes, where their use is merely mechanical, or 
of speeches, where the couplet often has the effect of a 
clinching epigram. 

2. A Popular Saying. Proverbs and bits of popular wis- 
dom are naturally either in rhyme or in alliterative rhythm, 
as in II, i, 145-146. 

1 The Chorus speech introducing Act IV is excepted as not part 
of the regular dialogue. 



INTRODUCTION xxiii 

3. Alternate Rhymes. Alternate rhymes in five-stress verse 
are found only in Shakespeare's plays written before 1600. 
They are common in Romeo and Juliet and occur occasionally 
in King John. Combinations of such rhymes will be found in 
perfect harmony with the spirit of the play, as in the quatrain 
which closes the first act, and in the six-line stanza, II, i, 504- 
509, which is the sextet (rhyming a b a b c c) of Venus 
and Adonis} 

Prose 

Of recent years there have been interesting discussions of 
the question " whether we are justified in supposing that 
Shakespeare was guided by any fixed principle in his em- 
ployment of verse and prose, or whether he merely employed 
them, as fancy suggested, for the sake of variety and relief." 2 
It is a significant fact that in both King Richard the Second 
and King John there is no prose, and in many of the other 
early plays there is very little, the proportion of prose to 
blank verse increasing with the decrease of rhyme. 

V. DURATION OF ACTION 

1. Historic Time. A period of seventeen years is covered 
by the events of the play. In April, 1199, upon the death 
of Richard I, John is recognized as Richard's successor in 

1 Lodge's Scillas Metamorphosis, 1589, from which Shakespeare 
plainly drew inspiration for Venus and Adonis, is written in this verse. 

2 Professor J. Churton Collins, Shakespeare as a Prose Writer. 
See Delius, Die Prosa in Shakespeares Dramen {Shakespeare Jahr- 
buch, V, 227-273); Janssen, Die Prosa in Shakespeares Dramen; 
Professor Hiram Corson, An Introduction to the Study oj Shake- 
speare, pages 83-98. 



xxiv THE NEW HUDSON SHAKESPEARE 

Normandy, England, Poitou, and Aquitaine, while John's 
nephew Prince Arthur is acknowledged by Anjou, Touraine, 
and Maine. From this year until the death of John, October 
19, 12 16, the dates which are specially significant in Shake- 
speare's play are — 1200, the end of war between John and 
Philip of France; 1202, the renewal of war which ends in 
the capture of Arthur and his imprisonment at Rouen; 1204, 
the fall of Chateau Gaillard ; 1207, John's refusal to accept 
Langton as Archbishop of Canterbury; 1208, the pope's 
interdict against England; 1209, the excommunication of 
John; 1 2 13, the bending of John to the will of the pope; 
12 15, the signing of Magna Charta; 12 16, Louis of France 
urged to depose John. 

2. Dramatic Time. "The historical drama," says Bulwer 
Lytton, " is the concentration of historical events." In Shake- 
speare's drama the events of seventeen years are represented 
as the occurrences of seven days, with intervals comprising 
in all not more than three or four months. P. A. Daniel's 
time analysis x is as follows : 

Day 1. — I, i. 

Interval (return of the French ambassador and 
arrival of John in France). 
Day 2. — II, i; III, i-iii. 

Interval. 
Day 3. — III, iv. 

Interval. (During this interval the deaths of Con- 
stance and Elinor must occur.) 
Day 4. — IV, i-iii. 
Interval. 

1 New Shakspere Society Transactions, 1877-1879, pp. 257-264. 



INTRODUCTION XXV 

Day 5. — V, i. 

Interval (including at least Pandulph's return journey 
to the Dauphin, the Bastard's preparation for 
defense, and his and King John's journey, with 
their army, to Edmundsbury). 

Day 6. — V, ii-v. 

Day 7. — V, vi, vii. 



VI. DRAMATIC CONSTRUCTION AND 
DEVELOPMENT 

In the right and full sense of the term, Shakespeare's 
history plays are dramatic revivifications of the past, wherein 
the shades of departed things are made to live their life over 
again under our eye, so that they have an interest for us 
such as no mere narrative of events can possess. The further 
we push our historical researches, the more we are brought 
to recognize the substantial justness of Shakespeare's rep- 
resentations. Even when he makes free with chronology, it 
is commonly in quest of something higher and better than 
chronological accuracy. The result is in most cases favorable 
to right conceptions ; the persons and events being thereby 
so knit together in a sort of vital harmony as to be better 
understood than if they were ordered with literal exactness of 
time and place. Kings and princes and the heads of the state 
figure prominently in his scenes, but in such a way as to set us 
face to face with the real spirit and sense of the people, whose 
claims are never sacrificed to make an imposing pageant or 
puppet-show of political automatons. If Shakespeare brings 
in fictitious persons and events, it is to set forth those aspects 
of life which lie without the range of common history. 



xxvi THE NEW HUDSON SHAKESPEARE 

The noteworthy point is that out of the materials of an 
entire age and nation, Shakespeare can so select and use a 
few as to give a just conception of the whole ; all the lines 
and features of its life and action, its piety, chivalry, wisdom, 
policy, wit, and profligacy, being gathered up and wrought 
out in fair proportion and clear expression. Where he devi- 
ates most from all the authorities known to have been con- 
sulted by him, there is a large, wise propriety in his devia- 
tions. Indeed, some of those deviations have been remarkably 
verified by the researches of later times, as if Shakespeare 
had exercised a sort of prophetic power in his dramatic 
retrospections. 

Shakespeare, in giving us what lies within the scope of his 
art, facilitates and furthers the understanding of that which 
is beyond it. This makes the historical drama what it should 
be — a " concentration of history," setting our thoughts at 
the point where the several lines of truth converge, whence 
we may survey the field of his subject both in its unity and 
in its variety. 

Especially noteworthy in Shakespeare's handling of his- 
torical material is his calmness and poise of judgment. In 
the bitter conflicts of factions and principles he allows the 
several persons to utter, in the extremest forms, their oppos- 
ing views without committing himself to any of them or 
betraying any disapproval of them. He holds the balance 
even between justice to the men and justice to the truth. 
The claims of legitimacy and of revolution, of divine right, 1 

1 Schlegel characterizes Shakespeare's "dramas derived from the 
English history" thus: " This mirror of kings should be the manual 
of princes : from it" they may learn the intrinsic dignity of their 
hereditary vocation ; but they will also learn the difficulties of their 



INTRODUCTION xxvii 

personal merit, and public choice, the doctrines of the mo- 
narchical, the aristocratic, the popular origin of the state — 
all these are by turns urged in their most rational or most 
plausible aspects, but merely in the order and on the footing 
of dramatic propriety. 

At no time does Shakespeare play or affect to play the 
part of umpire between the wranglers : which of them has 
the truth, or the better cause — this he leaves to appear 
silently in the ultimate sum-total of results. And so imper- 
turbable is his fairness, so unswerving his impartiality, as 
almost to seem the offspring of a heartless and cynical indif- 
ference. Hence a French writer, Chasles, sets him down as 
" chiefly remarkable for a judgment so high, so firm, so un- 
compromising, that one is well-nigh tempted to impeach his 
coldness, and to find in this impassible observer something 
that may almost be called cruel towards the human race. In 
the historical pieces," he continues, " the picturesque, rapid, 
and vehement genius which produced them seems to bow 
before the higher law of a judgment almost ironical in its 
clear-sightedness. Sensibility to impressions, the ardent force 
of imagination, the eloquence of passion — these brilliant 
gifts of nature which would seem destined to draw a poet 
beyond all limits, are subordinated in that extraordinary 
intelligence to a calm and almost deriding sagacity, that 
pardons nothing and forgets nothing." 

Both tragedy and comedy deal with a conflict between an 
individual force (which may be centered either in one character 

situation, the dangers of usurpation, the inevitable fall of tyranny, 
which buries itself under its attempts to obtain a firmer foundation ; 
lastly, the ruinous consequences of the weaknesses, errors, and crimes 
of kings, for whole nations, and many subsequent generations." 



xxviii THE NEW HUDSON SHAKESPEARE 

or in a group of characters acting as one) and environing cir- 
cumstances. In tragedy the individual (one person or a group) 
is overwhelmed; in comedy the individual triumphs. In both 
tragedy and comedy five stages may be noted in the plot 
development: (i) the exposition, or introduction; (2) the 
complication, rising action, or growth ; (3) the climax, crisis, 
or turning point ; (4) the resolution, falling action, or con- 
sequence ; and (5) the denouement, catastrophe, 1 or conclu- 
sion. Let it not be thought for a moment that each of these 
stages is clearly differentiated. As a rule they pass insensibly 
into each other, as they do in life. 

Analysis by Act and Scene 2 

I. The Exposition, or Introduction (Tying of the Knot) 

Act I, Scene i. Without preface or prologue the action is begun 
by the claim of Philip of France to the dominions of King John. 
This claim is in behalf of Arthur, against whom John is accused by 
Philip's messenger of plotting. In the word " usurpingly " (line 13) 
and in John's reply " Here have we war for war, and blood for blood " 
(line 19) the keynote of the chief struggle is struck. The conflict 
both of conscience with ambition and of nation with nation is in these 
words begun. With line 44 a quick transition is made to introduce, in 
lively fashion the Bastard, who typifies English patriotism, courage, 
and keen wit, and who is to become the hero of the play. In this 
scene most of the chief actors of the drama are introduced. 

1 " Catastrophe — the change or revolution which produces the 
conclusion or final event of a dramatic piece." — Johnson. 

2 " It must be understood that a play can be analyzed into very 
different schemes of plot. It must not be thought that one of these 
schemes is right and the rest wrong; but the schemes will be better 
or worse in proportion as — while of course representing correctly 
the facts of the play — they bring out more or less of what ministers 
to our sense of design." — Moulton. 



INTRODUCTION xxix 

II. The Complication, Rising Action, or Growth (Tying of 
the Knot) 

Act II, Scene i. The dramatic complication becomes marked when 
the scene shifts to France, and the main action is rapidly advanced 
when, before Angiers, the conflicting claims to the English throne 
are shamefully settled for the moment, not by combat, but by the 
bartering of John's niece Blanch in marriage to Philip's son Lewis, 
with a dowry consisting of the French provinces and a sum of 
money. This action affords the opportunity to reintroduce the spirit 
of right and honour in the person of the Bastard, who, in the solilo- 
quy which closes the scene, resolves with waggish jest: 

Since kings break faith upon commodity, 
Gain, be my lord, for I will worship thee. 

The scene also serves to reveal the strong part that Constance is to 
take in the intrigue that is already developing. Both in the schem- 
ings of the Queen mother, who shows that the political ambitions of 
John are not greater than her own for him, and in the vehement 
wrath of Constance toward those who have betrayed Arthur's cause, 
the complication is forwarded. The action throughout is rapid and 
uninterrupted. 

Act III, Scene i. As is characteristic of the whole play, this act is 
opened without the aid of any of the usual dramatic devices for de- 
laying the complication. The center of the stage is still in France. 
By contrasting the positive Constance with the negative Blanch and 
the timid Arthur, Shakespeare has thus early accomplished his pur- 
pose so far as the part that Constance plays in the tangle of events 
is concerned. Succeeding events only serve to emphasize what is 
clearly shown here. 

In the introduction of the pope's legate, Pandulph, the curious 
cross-action of the play is begun. From this point John acts the 
double role of hero, as champion of England against the pope, and 
of villain, as the persecutor of an innocent boy. The keynote of 
"usurper " and "war for war, and blood for blood," struck in the first 
scene (lines 13 and 19), is again heard above the sound of many 
voices. John is excommunicated, Philip withdraws his friendship, 
and war is again begun. 



xxx THE NEW HUDSON SHAKESPEARE 

Act III, Scene ii. The ten lines of this scene intensify the compli- 
cation by revealing the death of Austria at the hand of the Bastard, 
and the capture of Arthur, who is a prisoner at the mercy of John. 

Act III, Scene Hi. To show that an actual conflict rages, seems 
to be the main purpose of this comparatively brief scene, but it is 
also made to reveal the full depth of the villainy of John, and the 
full force of the intrigue. The crisis is anticipated in the brief bits 
of dialogue (lines 65-66) which pass sentence of death on Arthur. 
The childish wail, w O, this will make my mother die with grief ! " 
(line 5), foreshadows the death of Constance in the fourth act and in 
some measure anticipates the questionings of the audience as to the 
disappearance from the stage of its most forceful dramatis persona. 

Act III, Scene iv. All the dramatic interest of the scene centers 
in the answer to the cry of Arthur just referred to. The grief of 
Constance suggests the furor of madness or despair. The main 
action is advanced in the general disconsolateness of the French 
combatants, and the cross-action is strengthened by the optimism 
of the pope's representative, Pandulph, who sees in the thickening 
complication the success of the cause which he represents. 

Act IV, Scene i. This is one of the great emotional scenes in 
Shakespeare. The dialogue between Arthur and Hubert rouses the 
audience to an intensity of feeling which gives peculiar dramatic 
interest to the closing scene of the complication. 

III. The Climax, Crisis, or Turning Point (the Knot Tied) 

Act IV, Scene ii, 1-248. The complication is at its height and the 
climax is reached. When John, who has been led to believe that 
Arthur's death is a reality, is confronted with the demand of the 
nobles that his nephew be given up to them, and with the news 
not only that his mother is dead and the Dauphin has landed an 
army in England, but that there is widespread popular unrest, the 
turning point has been reached. 

IV. The Resolution, Falling Action, or Consequence (the 
Untying of the Knot) 

Act IV, Scene ii, 24Q-26Q. When John learns from Hubert that 
Arthur still lives, the falling action of the drama begins. 



INTRODUCTION xxxi 

Act IV, Scene Hi. With almost unprecedented speed the complica- 
tion now moves rapidly toward the catastrophe. The defection of 
the nobles is complete — they believe in the guilt of both John and 
Hubert and hasten to join the Dauphin. The Bastard sees only woes 
to come. 

Act V, Scene i. By going through the form of yielding his crown 
to Pandulph and receiving it again from him, John hopes to stay the 
inevitable. But the news that Arthur's death is a reality causes him 
again to waver in his purpose. The Bastard, though indignant at 
the compromise made with the pope, still shows readiness to fight 
in behalf of the king. As the star of John wanes, that of the Bastard 
is in the ascendant. 

Act V, Scene ii. Pandulph vainly attempts to turn the Dauphin 
from his purpose to war on John, but the arrival of the Bastard 
to proclaim John's readiness to fight shows the weakening of the 
cross-action. 

Act V, Scene Hi. John, ill and discouraged, leaves the field, while 
his nobles, informed of contemplated treachery by the French, 
determine to return to their natural allegiance, thus hastening the 
solution of the complication. 

V. Denouement, Catastrophe, or Conclusion (the Knot Untied) 

Act V, Sceties vi-vii. In the death of John by poisoning, Shake- 
speare has created a catastrophe which is also the means of linking 
the action of King John with that of the great Shakespearian drama 
of English history. Prince Henry, unopposed, succeeds to the throne, 
and England is saved from foes within and foes without. 



VII. HISTORICAL CONNECTIONS 

Henry II, the first of the Plantagenet kings, had four 
sons, Henry, Richard, Geoffrey, and John. Eleanor, 1 his 
queen, was first married to Louis VII of France, and some 
sixteen years after the marriage was divorced on suspicion of 

1 ' Elinor ' is the form found everywhere in the text of the play. 



xxxii THE NEW HUDSON SHAKESPEARE 

conjugal infidelity. Within six weeks after the divorce, she 
was married to Henry, then Earl of Anjou, who was much 
younger than she. Through her, Henry acquired large pos- 
sessions, but not enough to offset the trouble she caused 
in his family and kingdom. Unfaithful to her first husband, 
and jealous of the second, she instigated his sons to rebellion 
against him. In 1189, after a reign of thirty-five years, 
Henry died, invoking the vengeance of heaven on the in- 
gratitude of his children, and was succeeded by Richard, 
Henry and Geoffrey having died before him. Geoffrey, Duke 
of Bretagne in right of Constance his wife, left one son, 
Arthur. In 1190, when Arthur was a mere child, Richard 
contracted him in marriage with the daughter of Tancred, 
king of Sicily, at the same time owning him as " our most 
dear nephew, and heir, if by chance we should die without 
issue." At Richard's death in 1199, however, John pro- 
duced a testament of his brother's, giving him the crown. 
Anjou, Touraine, and Maine were the proper patrimony of 
the Plantagenets, and therefore devolved to Arthur as the 
acknowledged representative of that House, the rule of lineal 
succession being there fully established. To the ducal chair 
of Bretagne Arthur was the proper heir in right of his 
mother, who was then Duchess-regnant of that province. 
John claimed the dukedom of Normandy as the proper in- 
heritance from his ancestor, William the Conqueror, and his 
claim was there admitted. Poitou, Guienne, and five other 
French provinces were the inheritance of his mother Eleanor ; 
but she made over her title to him, and there also his claim 
was recognized. The English crown he claimed in virtue of 
his brother's will, but took care to strengthen that claim by a 
parliamentary election. In the strict order of inheritance, 



INTRODUCTION xxxiii 

all these possessions should fall to Arthur; but that order, 
it appears, was not then fully established, except in the 
provinces belonging to the House of Anjou. 

As Duke of Bretagne, Arthur was a vassal of France, and 
therefore bound to homage as the condition of his title. 
Constance, feeling his need of a protector, arranged with 
Philip Augustus, king of France, that he should do homage 
also for the other provinces, where his right was clogged 
with no such conditions. Philip accordingly met him at 
Mans, received his oath, gave him knighthood, and took 
him to Paris. 

Philip was cunning, ambitious, and unscrupulous, and 
his plan was to drive his own interests in Arthur's name. 
With Arthur entirely in his power, he could use him as 
an ally or a prisoner, whichever would best serve his turn ; 
and in effect "Arthur was a puppet in his hands, to be 
set up or knocked down, as he desired to bully or cajole 
John out of the territories he claimed in France." In the 
year 1200, Philip was at war with John in pretended 
maintenance of Arthur's rights ; but before the close of 
that year the war ended in a peace, by the terms of which 
John was to give his niece, Blanche of Castile, in marriage 
to Louis the Dauphin, with a dowry of several valuable 
fiefs ; and Arthur was to hold even his own Bretagne as a 
vassal of John. 

The genealogical tables given on the following pages in- 
dicate the inter-relation of the more important historical 
characters, English and French, in King John, and show in 
what other plays of Shakespeare they, their ancestors, or 
their descendant are mentioned or appear as dramatis 
personae. (See page xxxvi for the key.) 



HISTORICAL 



HENRY II 



JOHN LACKLAND 

1199-1216 

KJ 



Eleanor 



Alphonso III 
of Castile 
= (1) Avice of Gloster = (2) Geoffrey 
Fitz- Peter 
= (3) Hubert Blanche of Castile 
= (2) Isabella of de Burgh 1 187-1252 

Angouleme KJ KJ 

Louis the Dauphin 
KJ 



I 
HENRY 111= Eleanor 



1216-1272 
KJ 



of Provence 



Eleanor 
= (1) William Marshal 
Earl of Pembroke 
KJ 
= (2) Simon de Montfort 
Earl of Leicester 

d. 1265 EDWARD I=(i) Eleanor of Castile 

1272-1307 d. 1290 



EDWARD II = Isabella 
1307-1327 I of France 
d. 1357 



Thomas Brotherton 
1st Earl of Norfolk 
(2) Thomas Holland 
Earl of Kent 
EDWARD III = Philippa 
1327-1377 of Hainault 

d. 1396 



1 " Henry and the seven rulers who followed and were descended from 
him, reigning in all for nearly two hundred and fifty years, are known as the 
Angevin line of kings, the word Angevin being taken from Anjou in France, 
Henry's birthplace and paternal inheritance. They are also spoken of as the 
Plantagenet family ; Henry's father, Geoffrey of Anjou, having been given 
the nickname Geoffrey plante de genet, from the broom flower (planta 
genista), either because he wore a sprig of that plant for a badge or because 
he was so fond of hunting and riding over the broom-covered heaths." — 
Edward P. Cheyney. 



CONNECTIONS 



ENGLISH 



= ELEANOR 1 OF AQUITAINE 

d. 1203 

KJ 



I 

Geoffrey = 

Duke of Brittany 2 

d. 11S6 

KJ 



I 

Constance 

of Brittany - 

d. 1201 

(2) Ra"lph 
of Chester 



I 

Eleanora 

Damsel of Brittany 2 

d. 1241 

KJ 



Arthur 

Duke of Brittany : 

m. at Rouen 

KJ 

I 

Marie 



RICHARD I 



Philip the Bastard 

d. 1226 

KJ 



: (2) Margaret 
of France 
d. 1317 



Edmund Crouchback 
Earl of Lancaster 



(St.) Thomas 
Earl of Lancaster 



Edmund 
Earl of Kent 
= Joan of Kent = (1) William Montague 



Thomas II 



I 

John 

Duke of Eyster 



Henry 
Earl of Lancaster 

I 

Henry 

Duke of Lancaster 

Blanche 

John of Gaunt 
R2 



1 The usual spelling of the name in the Folios is < Elinor' or ' Elianor.' 
Through his marriage with Eleanor Henry came into possession of her 
magnificent heritage of Poitou, Guienne, and Gascony. Having inherited 
Normandy and Maine as well as England from his mother, and claiming 
the sovereignty of Scotland, Wales, and Ireland, he ruled over a vast realm 
extending from the Orkneys to the Pyrenees. 

2 In the text of the play and elsewhere in this Introduction the French 
form Bretagne is used. 



HISTORICAL 
II. 













Edward III 










1327-1377 










H5 


1 1 

Edward Williarr 


1 
Lionel 




Philippa ~ (3) Catharine Swynford = 


the Black d. 1335 


Duke of Clar- 




Roet (?) 




Prince 


ence 
d. 1369 




Geoffrey 




Duke of 


1 1 


Aquitaine 






Chaucer (?) 


Thomas Ralph Joan 
Beaufort Neville = Beaufort 


d. 1376 


(1) Elizabeth 




1 


H5 


de Burgh 




Thomas 


Earl of Earl of 




I 




Chaucer 


Dorset West- 


Joan of 


Philippa 




= • 


Duke of more- 


Kent (I) the 


= 




Matilda 


Exeter LAND 


Fair Maid 


Edmund 




Burghersh 


d. 1425 d. 1425 


| 


Mortimer 


Michael 






H5 H4 12 H5 


RICHARD II 


Earl of 


de la Pole 








1377-1399 


March 


Earl of 








R2 


I 


Suffolk 








— 


Anne Morti- 


d. 1415 








(0 Anne of 


mer 


*! 5 








Bohemia 


(See descend- 


1 








(2) Isabella 


ants of Ed- 


(3) William 








of France 


mund Langley 


de la Pole 


= Alice 


= (2) Thomas Montague 


R2 


Duke of York) 


Earl of 
Suffolk 
exc. 1450 




Earl of Salisbury 
d. 1428 
H 5 






H6 1 









Signs and Abbreviations in 
the Tables 



Charles de la Bret 

Constable of Francs 

k.A. 1415 

H5 



1- 



| = direct descent from 




== married to 




00 = brother or sister 




<*|v, = brother or sister of the 


half blood 


d. = died 






exc.= executed 






k.= killed 






k.A.= killed at 


Agincourt 




R2= one of the dramatis Dersonae in Richard IT 


R3 = 


do. 


Richard III 


H 4 1 = 


do. 


I Heiiry IV 


H 4 2 = - 


do. 


2 Henry IV 


H6' = 


do. 


I Henry VI 


H6 2 = 


do. 


2 Henry VI 


H63= 


do. 


3 Henry VI 


H 5 = 


do. 


Henry V 


do. 


King John 



Italics indicate that the person is only mentioned in 
the play. Numerals in parentheses before a name 
indicate a first, second, or third marriage. Nu- 
merals after a king's reign indicate the dates of 
his reign. 



(2) Owen Tudor =s 

Edmund Tudor 

Henry Tudor Earl of Richmond 

HENRY VII TUDOR 

1485-1509 

H6 3 R 3 



CONNECTIONS 
ENGLISH 

= Philippa of Hainault 
I d. 1369 



John of 
Gaunt 
Duke of 
Lancaster 
d. 1399 
R2 

(2) Constance of 

Castile 

(1) Blanche of 

Lancaster 

Chaucer's 

' Duchesse '? 

d. 1369 



Henry 

Bolingbroke 

Earl of Derby 

Duke of Hereford 

Duke of Lancaster 

HENRY IV 

LANCASTER 

1399-1413 

R2 H4 13 

(2) Joan of Navarre 

d. 1437 
(1) Mary de Bohun 

d. 1394 



Edmund Langley = (2) Joan of Kent (II) 



Duke of York 

d. 1402 

R2 



■ (1) Isabella of 
Castile, d. 1393 



Duchess of York 
R2 

(3) Henry, 3 Baron 

Scrope of Masham 

Lord Scroop 

exc. 1415 

H 5 



Thomas 

Duke of Gloucester 

d. 1397 



Edward 
Earl of 
Rutland 
Duke of 

AUMERLE 

Duke of 

York 
k A. 1415 
R2 H5 



Richard 

Earl of 

Cambridge 

exc. 1415 

HS 

Anne 
Mortimer 

Richard 

Plantagenet 
Duke of 

York 
d. 1460 
H6 12 3 



Constance 

Thomas 

Despenser 

d. 1400 

Isabella 

Richard 

Beauchamp 

Earl of 

Warwick 

d. 1439 

H 5 



I 
EDWARD IV 
1461-14S3 
R 3 H6" 

Elisabeth 

T 

r 



Edmund 

Earl of 

Rutland 

H6 3 



George 

Duke of 

Clarence 

d. 1479 

H63R 3 



RICHARD III 

1483-1485 
H6 2 3 R 3 



Edward of Wales 
EDWARD V 
R3 



Henry of Thomas 

Monmouth Dukeof 

'Prince Hal Clarence 

Duke of Lancaster i c , .,. 

HENRY V H 4 2 fe 
1413-1422 
H4H5 

KATHARINE 

OF FRANCE 

d.M„ 

HENRY VI 

1422-1471 

H6 12 3 



John 

Duke of 

Bedford 

Regent of 

France 

d- 1435 

H4 H5 H6 1 



Richard 

Duke of York 

R3 

1 



Humphrey 
' Good Duke 
Humphrey ' 

Duke of 
Gloucester 

d. 1447 
H4 1 H5 H6 1 * 



Louis X 
1314-1316 



HISTORICAL 
III. 



Louis VIII 

1223-1226 

KJ 



Philip III = Isai 

I 



Philip IV 
The Fair 

I 



Isabella 

Edward II 

(of England) 

H 5 

Edward III 
(first English 

claimant of 
French crown) 



Philip V 
1316-1322 



CHARLES VI = Isabella 



1380-1422 
H 5 



of Bavaria 



ELLA OF ARAGON 

H 5 



Charles IV 
1322-1328 



Charles V 

1364-13S0 
I 



Louis 


Isabella 


KATHARINE 


CHARLES VII 


the Dauphin 


= 


d- M37 


1422-1461 


d. 1415 


(1) RICHARD II 


H S 


H6 l 


H S 


(of England) 




1 




R2 


(1) HENRY V 


LOUIS XI 




(2) Charles 


of England 
(second English 


H6 3 




Duke of Orleans 






H 5 


claimant of 
French crown) 

H4 1 H4 2 H5 
(2) Owen Tudor 











In discussing the liberties taken by Shakespeare with 
chronology and historical fact, Ivor B. John has pointed out 
that he was more than justified in so doing : "The alterations 
made were absolutely necessary in order to obtain sufficient 
dramatic concentration. ... As it is, the identification of 



CONNECTIONS 



FRENCH 



Blanche of Castile 
KJ 



(St.) Louis IX = Margaret of Provence 

H 5 | 



Charles of Valois 
i Duke of Alencon 



Philip VI 
1328-1350 

John II 
1 3 50- 1 364 



Charles II 
2 Duke of Alencon 

r~ 1 

Charles III Peter 

3 Duke of Alencon 4 Duke of Alencon 

1 I 

Philip J° HN 



Robert 

I. 
Louis (I) 

1 Duke of 
Bourbon 

Peter 

2 Duke of 
Bourbon 

Louis (II) 

3 Duke of 
Bourbon 

I 

John 

4 Dukeof 



Duke of Burgundy 5 Duke of Alencon Bourbon 



1 I 

Louis John 

Duke of Orleans the Fearless 

Duke of Burgundy 

d H 4 5 ' 9 



k.A. 1415 
H5 



Anthony 

Duke of Brabant 

k.A. 1415 



(prisoner 

at Agin- 

court) 

H 5 



Charles John 

the Poet Count of Dunois 

Duke of Orleans Bastard of Orleans 
(prisoner at 
Agincourt) 



Lymoges with Austria, the presence of Blanch in the inter- 
view between the kings, the sudden ' clapping up ' of her 
marriage, and, above all, the close weaving together of the 
papal interference, the death of Arthur, the baronial revolt 
as if brought about by Arthur's supposed murder, and the 
French invasion — all these are felt to be dramatic gains." 



xl THE NEW HUDSON SHAKESPEARE 



VIII. THE CHARACTERS 

The reign of King John saw the dawn of that genuine 
English nationality which has continued substantially to the 
present day. The faults and crimes of the sovereign seem 
to have had the effect of testing and toughening the national 
unity, just as certain diseases in infancy operate to strengthen 
the constitution of the man, and thus to prepare him for the 
struggles of life. England was then wrestled, as it were, into 
the beginnings of that indomitable self-reliance which she 
has since so gloriously maintained. 

Shakespeare's vigorous and healthy national spirit is 
strongly manifested in the workmanship of King John. Faul- 
conbridge serves as a chorus to give a right political inter- 
pretation of the events and action of the play. To him John 
impersonates the unity and majesty of the nation, so that 
defection from him tends to national dissolution. Whatever 
he may be as a man, as king, Patriotism must stand by him 
at all hazards, for the rights and interests of England are 
inseparably bound up with the reverence of his person and 
the maintenance of his title. Thus, in Faulconbridge's view, 
England can only rest true to herself by sticking to the king 
against all opposition. This principle is the moral backbone 
of the drama, however the poetry of it may turn upon other 
points. 

The characterization of King John corresponds very well, 
in the degree of excellence, with the period to which its 
writing has been assigned. The delineation of the English 
barons is made to reflect the tumultuous and distracted con- 
dition of the time, when the best men were inwardly divided 



INTRODUCTION xli 

and fluctuating between the claims of parliamentary election 
and actual possession on the one side, and the rights of lineal 
succession on the other. In such a conflict of duties and 
motives, the moral sense often sharply at odds with urgent 
political considerations, the clearest heads and most upright 
hearts are apt to lose their way ; nor perhaps is it much to 
be wondered at if in such a state of things self-interest, the 
one constant motive of human action, gain such headway at 
last as to swamp all other interests. The noble and virtuous 
Salisbury successfully resists this depraving tendency, yet 
the thorns and dangers of the time prove too much for his 
judgment. From the. outset he is divided between allegiance 
to John and to Arthur, till the crimes and cruelties of the 
former throw him quite over to the side of the latter. Hu- 
manity outwrestles nationality, and this even to the sacrifice of 
humanity itself, as matters turn. His scrupulous regard for 
moral rather than prudential motives draws him into serious 
error, which, to be sure, his rectitude of purpose is prompt to 
retrace, but not till the mistake has nearly crippled his power 
for good. His course well illustrates the peril to which 
goodness, more sensitive than far-sighted, is exposed in such 
a hard conflict of antagonist principles. In the practical 
exigencies of life, doing the best we can for those who stand 
nearest us is often nobler than living up to our own ideal. 
So there are times when men must " set up their rest " to 
stand by their country, right or wrong, and not allow any 
faults of her rulers to alienate them from her cause. Some- 
times the highest sacrifice which is required of us is that 
of our finer moral feelings, nay, even of our sense of duty 
itself, to the rough occasions of patriotism. All this has 
been rarely exemplified in Salisbury, who was the famous 



xlii THE NEW HUDSON SHAKESPEARE 

William Longsword, natural son to Henry II, and half- 
brother to John. It means much that our better feelings 
stay with him even when the more reckless spirit and coarse 
nature of Faulconbridge carry off our judgment. 

John 

John, as he stands in history, was such a piece of irredeem- 
able depravity, so thoroughly weak-headed and bloody-handed, 
that to set him forth truly without seeming to be dealing in 
caricature or lampoon required no little art. In his dying 
agony he truthfully pictured himself : 

I am a scribbled form, drawn with a pen 
Upon a parchment, and against this fire 
Do I shrink up. [V, vii, 32-34] 

Shakespeare was under the necessity of leaving his qualities 
to be inferred, in some measure, instead of showing them 
directly. The point was to disguise his meannesses, and yet 
so to order the disguise as to suggest that it covered some- 
thing too vile to be seen. What could better infer his slinking, 
cowardly, malignant spirit than his two scenes with Hubert ? 
Here he has neither the boldness to look his purpose in the 
face nor the rectitude to dismiss it. He has no way but to 
" dodge and palter in the shifts of lowness." He tries by hints 
and fawning innuendoes to secure the passage of his thought 
into effect, without committing himself to any responsibility 
for it ; and wants another to be the agent of his will, and yet 
bear the blame as if acting of his own accord. Afterwards, 
when the consequences begin to press upon him, he accuses 
the aptness of the instrument as the cause of his suggestion ; 
and the only sagacity he displays is in shirking the respon- 
sibility of his own guilty purpose, his sneaking, selfish fear 



INTRODUCTION xliii 

inspiring him with a quickness and fertility of thought far 
beyond his capacity under nobler influences. 

The chief trouble with John in the play is, that he conceives 
himself in a false position, and so becomes himself false to 
his position in the hope of thereby rendering it secure. He 
has indeed far better reasons for holding the throne than he 
is himself aware of, and the utter selfishness of his aims is 
what keeps him from seeing them. His soul is so bemired 
in personal regards that he cannot rise to any considerations 
of patriotism or public spirit. The idea of wearing the crown 
as a sacred trust from the nation never enters his head. 
This is because he lacks the nobleness to rest his title on 
national grounds, or because he is himself too lawless of 
spirit to feel the majesty with which the national law has 
invested him. As the interest and honour of England have 
no place in his thoughts, so he feels as if he had stolen the 
throne, and appropriated it to his own private use. This 
consciousness of dishonourable motives naturally fills him 
with dark suspicions and sinister designs. As he is without 
the inward strength of noble aims, so he does not feel out- 
wardly strong ; his evil motives suggest using evil means for 
securing himself. Thus his sense of inherent baseness has 
the effect of urging him into disgraces and crimes, his very 
stings of self-reproach driving him on from bad to worse. 
If he had the manhood to trust his cause frankly with the 
nation, as rightly comprehending his trust, he would be 
strong in the nation's support, but this he cannot see. 

John is not less wanting in manly fortitude than in moral 
principle; he has not the courage even to be daringly and 
resolutely wicked. There is no backbone of truth in him 
either for good or for evil. Insolent, self-confident, defiant 



xliv THE NEW HUDSON SHAKESPEARE 

under success, he becomes utterly abject and cringing in 
disaster or reverse. When his wishes are crowned, he struts 
and talks big ; but a slight whirl in the wind of chance at 
once lays him sprawling in the mud. We may almost apply 
to him what Ulysses says of Achilles in Troilns and Cressida : 

Possess'd he is with greatness, 
And speaks not to himself but with a pride 
That quarrels at self-breath : imagined worth 
Holds in his blood such swoln and hot discourse 
That 'twixt his mental and his active parts 
Kingdom'd Achilles in commotion rages 
And batters down himself. [II, iii, 180-186] 

Just as, in his craven-hearted selfishness, John cares nothing 
for England's honour, nor even for his own as king, but 
only to retain the spoil of his self-imputed trespass, so he 
will at any time trade that honour away, and will not mind 
cringing to the king of France or to the pope, so long as he 
may keep his place. 

All this was no doubt partly owing to the demoralizing 
influences of the time. How deeply those influences worked 
is well shown in the hoary-headed fraud and heartlessness 
of Pandulf, who makes it his special business to abuse the 
highest faculties to the most refined ill purposes, with subtle 
and tortuous casuistry explaining away perfidy, treachery, 
and murder. The arts of deceit could hardly have come to 
be used with such complete self-approval, but from a long 
discipline of civilized selfishness in endeavoring to prevent or 
to parry the assaults of violence and barbarism. For, in a 
state of continual danger and insecurity, cultivated intelligence 
is naturally drawn to defend itself by subtlety and craft. 
The ethereal weapons of reason and sanctity are powerless 



INTRODUCTION xlv 

upon men stupefied by brutal passions ; and this is too apt 
to generate even in the best characters a habit of seeking 
safety by " bowing their gray dissimulation " into whatever 
enterprises they undertake. This would go far to explain the 
alleged system of " pious frauds " once so little scrupled in 
the walks of religion and learning. Be this as it may, there 
was, it seems, virtue enough in the England of King John to 
bring her safe and sound through the vast perils and corrup- 
tions of the time. That reign was in truth the seed-bed of 
those forces which have since made England so great and 
wise and free. 

All through the reigns of Henry VII and Henry VIII, 
the horrors of the civil slaughter of the York and Lancaster 
wars made the English people nervously apprehensive as to 
the consequences of a disputed title to the throne. This 
apprehension had by no means worn off in Shakespeare's 
time. The nation was still extremely tenacious of the lineal 
succession as the only practicable safeguard against the 
danger of rival claimants. The dogma of the divine right, 
which then got such headway, was probably more or less the 
offspring of this sentiment. Shakespeare, in his sympathy 
with this strong national feeling, was swayed somewhat 
from the strict line of historic truth and reason in ascribing 
John's crimes and follies, and the evils of his reign, so much 
to a public distrust of his title. It is questionable whether 
such distrust really had any considerable part in those evils. 
The king's title was generally held at the time to be sound, 
the nervous dread of a disputed succession being mainly the 
growth of later experience. The anxiety to fence off the 
evils so dreaded naturally caused the powers of the crown 
to be strained up to a pitch hardly compatible with any 



xlvi THE NEW HUDSON SHAKESPEARE 

degree of freedom. Thus at length another civil war became 
necessary to keep the liberties of England from being 
swallowed up in the Serbonian bog of royal prerogative. In 
the apprehension of an experienced danger on one side, men 
lost sight of an equal danger on the other side. 

Coxstance 

The genius and art of Mrs. Siddons in all likelihood caused 
the critics of her time and their immediate successors to set 
a higher estimate upon the delineation of Constance than is 
fully justified by the play. The part seems indeed to have 
been peculiarly suited to the powers of that remarkable 
actress, the wide range of moods and the tugging conflicts 
of passion, through which Constance passes, affording scope 
enough for the most versatile gifts of delivery. Shakespeare's 
conception of the character is far from displaying his full 
strength. There is in many of the speeches of Constance 
a redundancy of rhetoric and verbal ingenuity which gives 
them a too theatrical relish. The style thus falls under a 
reproof well expressed in this very play : 

When workmen strive to do better than well, 
They do confound their skill in covetousness. 

[IV, ii, 28-29] 

In pursuance of the same thought, Bacon remarks the great 
practical difference between the love of excellence and the 
love of excelling. So here we seem to have rather too much 
of that elaborate artificiality which springs more from am- 
bition than from inspiration. The fault, however, is among 
those which mark the workmanship of Shakespeare's 
earlier period. 



INTRODUCTION xlvii 

The idea pervading the delineation is well stated by Haz- 
Iitt 1 as " the excess of maternal tenderness, rendered desper- 
ate by the fickleness of friends and the injustice of fortune, 
and made stronger in will, in proportion to the want of all 
other power." In the judgment of Gervinus, " ambition 
spurred by maternal love, maternal love fired by ambition 
and womanly vanity, form the distinguishing features" of 
Constance ; and he further describes her as " a woman 
whose weakness amounts to grandeur, and whose virtues 
sink into weakness." Gervinus is apt to be substantially 
right in such matters, but the character, though drawn in 
the best of situations for its amiability to appear, is not a 
very amiable one. Herein the play is perhaps the truer to 
history, for the chroniclers make Constance rather selfish and 
weak, and not so religious in motherhood but that, she be- 
trayed a somewhat un venerable impatience of widowhood. 
Nevertheless it must be owned that the soul of maternal 
grief and affection speaks from her lips with not a little 
majesty of pathos, and occasionally flows in strains of the 
most melting tenderness. A mother's sorrow could not 
express itself more eloquently than in these lines: 

Grief fills the room up of my absent child, 

Lies in his bed, walks up and down with me, 

Puts on his pretty looks, repeats his words, 

Remembers me of all his gracious parts, 

Stuffs out his vacant garments with his form ; 

Then, have I reason to be fond of grief? [Ill, iv, 93-98] 

There is no overstraining of nature in the imagery here used, 
for the speaker's passion is of just the right kind and degree 
to kindle the imagination into the richest and finest utterance. 

1 William Hazlitt, Characters of Shakespeare's Plays. 



xlviii THE NEW HUDSON SHAKESPEARE 

On the other hand, the general effect of her sorrow is 
marred by too great an infusion of anger, and she shows 
too much pride, self-will, and volubility of scorn, to have the 
full touch of our sympathies. Thus, when Elinor coarsely 
provokes her, she retorts in a strain of still coarser railing ; 
and the bandying of taunts and slurs between them, each 
not caring what she says, so her speech bites the other, is 
about equally damaging to them both. It is true, she meets 
with sore trials of patience, but these can hardly be said to 
open any springs of sweetness or beauty within her. When 
she finds that her heart's dearest cause is sacrificed to the 
schemes of politicians ; when it turns out that the king of 
France and the Archduke of Austria are driving their own 
ends in her name, and only pretending conscientious pur- 
pose and pity for her, to cover their selfish projects, the 
heart-wringing disappointment inflames her into outbursts 
of sarcastic bitterness and scorn. Her speech sounds little 
like the sorrowing and disconsolate mother. The impression 
of her behavior in these points is well described by Gervinus : 
"What a variety of feeling is expressed in those twenty lines 
where she inquires anxiously after the truth of that which 
shocks her to hear ! How her grief, so long as she is alone, 
restrains itself in calmer anguish in the vestibule of despair ! 
how it first bursts forth in the presence of others in power- 
less revenge, rising to a curse which brings no blessing to 
herself ! and how atoningly behind all this unwomanly rage 
lies the foil of maternal love ! We should be moved with 
too violent a pity for this love, if it did not weaken our in- 
terest by its want of moderation; we should turn away from 
the violence of the woman, if the strength of her maternal 
affection did not irresistibly enchain us." 



INTRODUCTION xlix 



Prince Arthur 



As Shakespeare used the license of art in stretching the 
life of Constance beyond its actual date so that he might 
enrich his work with the eloquence of a mother's love, he 
took a like freedom in making Arthur younger than the 
facts prescribed so that he might in larger measure pour in 
the sweetness of childish innocence and wit. Both of these 
departures from strict historic truth are highly judicious ; at 
least they are amply redeemed by the dramatic wealth which 
comes in fitly through them. In the case of Arthur there is 
the further gain that the sparing of his eyes is because of 
his potency of tongue and the piercing touch of gentleness ; 
whereas in history he is indebted for this to his strength of 
arm. The Arthur of the play is an artless, gentle, natural- 
hearted, but high-spirited, eloquent boy, in whom we have 
the voice of nature pleading for nature's rights, unrestrained 
by pride of character or place ; who at first braves his uncle, 
because set on to do so by his mother, and afterwards fears 
him, yet knows not why, because his heart is too full of "the 
holiness of youth" to conceive how anything so treacherous 
and unnatural can be, as that which he fears. He not only 
has a most tender and loving disposition, such as cruelty 
itself can hardly resist, but is also persuasive and wise far 
beyond his years, though his power of thought and magic 
of speech are so managed as rather to aid the impression of 
his childish age. Observe how in the scene with Hubert his 
very terror creates in him a sort of preternatural illumina- 
tion, and inspires him to a course of innocent and uncon- 
scious cunning — the perfect art of perfect artlessness. Of 
the scene in question Hazlitt justly says, " If anything ever 



xlviii THE NEW HUDSON SHAKESPEARE 

On the other hand, the general effect of her sorrow is 
marred by too great an infusion of anger, and she shows 
too much pride, self-will, and volubility of scorn, to have the 
full touch of our sympathies. Thus, when Elinor coarsely 
provokes her, she retorts in a strain of still coarser railing ; 
and the bandying of taunts and slurs between them, each 
not caring what she says, so her speech bites the other, is 
about equally damaging to them both. It is true, she meets 
with sore trials of patience, but these can hardly be said to 
open any springs of sweetness or beauty within her. When 
she finds that her heart's dearest cause is sacrificed to the 
schemes of politicians ; when it turns out that the king of 
France and the Archduke of Austria are driving their own 
ends in her name, and only pretending conscientious pur- 
pose and pity for her, to cover their selfish projects, the 
heart-wringing disappointment inflames her into outbursts 
of sarcastic bitterness and scorn. Her speech sounds little 
like the sorrowing and disconsolate mother. The impression 
of her behavior in these points is well described by Gervinus : 
"What a variety of feeling is expressed in those twenty lines 
where she inquires anxiously after the truth of that which 
shocks her to hear ! How her grief, so long as she is alone, 
restrains itself in calmer anguish in the vestibule of despair ! 
how it first bursts forth in the presence of others in power- 
less revenge, rising to a curse which brings no blessing to 
herself ! and how atoningly behind all this unwomanly rage 
lies the foil of maternal love ! We should be moved with 
too violent a pity for this love, if it did not weaken our in- 
terest by its want of moderation; we should turn away from 
the violence of the woman, if the strength of her maternal 
affection did not irresistibly enchain us." 



INTRODUCTION xlix 



Prince Arthur 



As Shakespeare used the license of art in stretching the 
life of Constance beyond its actual date so that he might 
enrich his work with the eloquence of a mother's love, he 
took a like freedom in making Arthur younger than the 
facts prescribed so that he might in larger measure pour in 
the sweetness of childish innocence and wit. Both of these 
departures from strict historic truth are highly judicious ; at 
least they are amply redeemed by the dramatic wealth which 
comes in fitly through them. In the case of Arthur there is 
the further gain that the sparing of his eyes is because of 
his potency of tongue and the piercing touch of gentleness ; 
whereas in history he is indebted for this to his strength of 
arm. The Arthur of the play is an artless, gentle, natural- 
hearted, but high-spirited, eloquent boy, in whom we have 
the voice of nature pleading for nature's rights, unrestrained 
by pride of character or place ; who at first braves his uncle, 
because set on to do so by his mother, and afterwards fears 
him, yet knows not why, because his heart is too full of "the 
holiness of youth" to conceive how anything so treacherous 
and unnatural can be, as that which he fears. He not only 
has a most tender and loving disposition, such as cruelty 
itself can hardly resist, but is also persuasive and wise far 
beyond his years, though his power of thought and magic 
of speech are so managed as rather to aid the impression of 
his childish age. Observe how in the scene with Hubert his 
very terror creates in him a sort of preternatural illumina- 
tion, and inspires him to a course of innocent and uncon- 
scious cunning — the perfect art of perfect artlessness. Of 
the scene in question Hazlitt justly says, " If anything ever 



1 THE NEW HUDSON SHAKESPEARE 

were penned, heart-piercing, mixing the extremes of terror 
and pity, of that which shocks and that which soothes the 
mind, it is this scene." Yet even here the tender pathos of 
the boy is marred with some "quirks of wit," such as Shake- 
speare would not have allowed in his best days. In Arthur's 
dying speech — "O me ! my uncle's spirit is in these stones" 
(IV, iii, 9) — our distrust of John is most artfully heightened ; 
all his foregoing inhumanity being, as it were, gathered and 
concentrated into an echo. 

Shakespeare has several times thrown the witchery of his 
genius into pictures of nursery life, as in the case of Mamil- 
lius in The Winter's Tale, and of Lady Macduff and her son 
in Macbeth, bringing children upon the scene and delighting 
us with their innocent archness and sweet-witted prattle, but 
Arthur is his most powerful and charming piece of this kind. 
That he loved to play with childhood is not the least of 
Shakespeare's claims to our reverence. 

Faulcoxbridge 

The reign of King John furnished no characters fully 
answering the conditions of high dramatic interest. To 
meet this want there was need of one or more representa- 
tive characters, — persons in whom should be centered and 
consolidated various elements of national character, which 
were in history dispersed through many individuals. Such 
a representative character is Faulconbridge, with his fiery 
flood of Norman vigor bounding through his veins, his 
irrepressible dance of animal spirits, his athletic and frolic- 
some wit, his big, brave, manly heart, his biting sword, and 
his tongue equally biting; his soul proof-armored against 
all fear save that of doing what is wrong or mean. 



INTRODUCTION li 

The Troublesome Raigne supplied the name, and also a 
slight hint towards the character: 

Next them a bastard of the King deceased, 
A hardy wild-head, rough and venturous. 

But Faulconbridge is thoroughly Shakespearian, brimful of 
Shakespeare's most peculiar mental life ; he is as different as 
can well be conceived from anything ever dreamed of in 
the Source-Quarto. It is specially worth noting that Shake- 
speare clearly embodies in him his own sentiment of nation- 
ality ; he pours his hearty, full-souled English spirit into him 
and through him, so that the character is, at least in the 
political sense, truly representative of the author. All this 
is accomplished without the slightest tincture of egotism or 
self-obtrusion. To Faulconbridge the king, as before re- 
marked, is truly the impersonation of the State ; all those 
nobilities of thought and all those ideas of majesty and rev- 
erence which are wanting in John himself, he supplies in 
thought. He is fully alive to the moral baseness of the 
king, but the office is to him so sacred, as the palladium of 
national unity and life, that he will allow neither himself nor 
others in his presence to speak disrespectfully of the man. 

Faulconbridge is strangely reckless of appearances, but 
his heart is evidently much better than his tongue. From 
his speech one might suppose gain to be his god, but a far 
truer language, which he uses without knowing it, tells us 
that gain is nothing to him. He talks as if he cared only for 
self-interest, while his works proclaim a spirit framed of dis- 
interestedness, his action thus quietly giving the lie to his 
words. His course in this respect springs partly from an im- 
pulse of antagonism to the prevailing spirit about him, which 



lii THE NEW HUDSON SHAKESPEARE 

makes great pretense to virtue without a particle of the thing 
itself. What he most abominates is the pursuit of selfish and 
sinister ends under the garb of religion. Piety on the tongue 
with covetousness in the heart fills him with intense disgust : 
and his repugnance is so strong that it sets him sponta- 
neously upon assuming a garb of selfishness to cover his 
real conscientiousness of mind and purpose. Secretly he is 
as generous as the sun, but his generosity puts on an affecta- 
tion of rudeness or something worse : he will storm at you, 
to bluff you off from seeing the kindness he is doing you. 
Of the same kind is his hatred of cruelty and meanness. 
While these are rife about him, he never gets angry or 
makes any quarrel with them. On the contrary, he laughs 
and breaks sinewy jests over them, as if he thought them 
witty and smart. Upon witnessing the heartless and unprin- 
cipled bargaining of the kings, he passes it off jocosely as 
a freak of the "mad world," and verbally frames for him- 
self a plan that " smacks somewhat of the policy." Then, 
instead of acting out what he thus seems to relish as a 
capital thing, he goes on to shame down, as far as may be, 
all such baseness by an example of straightforward noble- 
ness and magnanimity. 

Then too, with all his laughing roughness of speech and 
iron sternness of act, so blunt, bold, and downright, he is 
nevertheless full of humane and gentle feeling. With what 
burning eloquence of indignation does he denounce the 
supposed murder of Arthur ! though he has no thought of 
abetting his claims to the throne against the present occu- 
pant. He abhors the deed as a crime, but to his keen, honest 
eye it is also a stupendous blunder. He deplores it as such, 
because its huge offensiveness to England's heart is what 



INTRODUCTION liii 

makes it a blunder, and because he is himself in full sympathy 
with the national conscience, which cannot but be shocked 
at its hideous criminality. So it may be doubted whether 
he more resents the wickedness or the stupidity of the act : 

From forth this morsel of dead royalty, 
The life, the right and truth of all this realm 
Is fled to heaven ; and England now is left 
To tug and scamble and to part by the teeth 
The unowed interest of proud-swelling state. 

[iv, hi, 143-147] 

Shakespeare manages with great art that Faulconbridge 
be held to John throughout the play by ties which he is too 
clear of head and too upright of heart to think of renouncing. 
In the first place, he has been highly trusted and honoured 
by the king, and he cannot be ungrateful. Then again, in 
his clear-sighted and comprehensive public spirit, the diverse 
interests that split others into factions, and plunge them into 
deadly strife, are smoothly reconciled. Political regards work 
even more than personal gratitude, to keep him steadfast to 
the king, and he is ready with tongue and sword to beat 
down whatsoever obstructs a broad and generous nationality. 
His plain, frank nature either scorns the refinements of po- 
litical diplomacy or is insensible to them, but his patriotism 
is thoroughly sound and true, and knows no fear. 

As a representative character, Faulconbridge stands next 
to Falstaff. Thoroughly Gothic in features and proportions, 
and as thoroughly English in temper and spirit, his presence 
infuses life and true manliness into every part of the drama. 
He can well be described in the words with which he strove 
to rouse John to kingliness — " Be great in act, as you have 
been in thought" (V, 1, 45). 



liv THE NEW HUDSON SHAKESPEARE 

IX. STAGE HISTORY 

It is a curious fact that from the time of Shakespeare to 
the year 1737 there is no record of a performance of King 
John, and we have only the testimony of the First Folio 1 that 
it had been staged before 1623. Since neither the voluble 
Pepys nor the painstaking Downes even mentions King John, 
it would seem to have remained for Colley Gibber, poet- 
laureate and theatrical manager, to revive the play. This he 
was the means of doing through a mangled version called 
Papal Tyranny in the Reign of King John, which he originally 
prepared about 1736. It is not certain whether this was 
actually produced in 1737 or was simply in process of re- 
hearsal, but this much seems clear : the critics so bitterly pro- 
tested against such tampering with Shakespeare that Cibber 
withdrew his play, the withdrawal being for a time the talk of 
London, even Pope immortalizing the event in The Dunciad. 2 
It is interesting to note that political and ecclesiastical condi- 
tions similar to those which helped to create and shape Kynge 
Johan and The Troublesome Raigne in the sixteenth century 
were responsible for the revival of Cibber's version of Shake- 
speare's play in 1745, when the aged actor-author himself 
took the part of Pandulph. 

The theatrical manager, Rich, noting that the critics, while 
railing against Cibber, had much to say in praise of Shake- 
speare, took the hint and resolved to revive the original. This 

1 " . . . these Playes have had their triall alreadie, and stood out 
all Appeales ; and do now come forth quitted rather by a Decree of 
Court, then any purchas'd Letters of commendation." — To the 
great Variety of Readers. 

2 " King John in silence modestly expires." — I, 251. 



INTRODUCTION lv 

revival in 1737 and 1738 at Covent Garden was eminently 
successful, and the Faulconbridge of Walker established a 
tradition for well sustained power that influenced the judg- 
ment on all subsequent interpretations of the part. On 
February 15, 1745, at Drury Lane, Garrick for the first 
time appeared as King John, with Mrs. Cibber as Constance, 
Delane as the Bastard, and M acklin as Pandulph. The critics 
were loud in their praise of Mrs. Cibber's Constance, which 
came to be known as her greatest role. Garrick was espe- 
cially strong in the second scene of the fourth act. " His 
transitions from one passion to another were quick and ani- 
mated : when Hubert showed him the warrant, he snatched 
it from his hand, and grasping it hard in an agony of despair 
and horror, he threw his eyes to heaven as if self-convicted 
of murder ; in the dying scene likewise he was excellent." 1 

The years from 175 1 to 1783 saw a number of creditable 
performances both at Drury Lane and at Covent Garden, 
notably that of Sheridan and Garrick, in which Sheridan took 
the part of John and Garrick that of the Bastard. " But in 
the Bastard," says Davies, " all his spirit and art could not 
make amends for his deficiency in figure." The revival of the 
play in 1783 was made notable by the Kembles, especially 
Mrs. Siddons. Although the performances of Mrs. Siddons 
as Constance (see page xlvi), John Kemble as King John, 
and Charles as Faulconbridge, were given popular approval, 
the inherent dramatic weaknesses of the play and the absence 
of those social and political conditions which gave popular 
interest to the earlier revivals prevented it from gaining a 
permanent hold on the theater-going public. 

1 Thomas Davies, Dramatic Miscellanies. 



lvi THE NEW HUDSON SHAKESPEARE 

In the early years of the nineteenth century the Keans 
and Macready attempted to revive the tragedy, Charles Kean 
producing it in both England and America. Miss Ellen Terry, 
then only ten years old, who appeared as Arthur in Kean's 
last production, gives in her autobiographic sketches 1 a 
fascinating description of her preparation for the part. 
Mr. Beerbohm Tree's revival in 1899 was an ambitious 
undertaking which held the boards longer than any of the 
earlier productions. He revised the play, dividing it into 
three acts, introduced two tableaux — one of the battle be- 
fore Angiers, the other of the signing of Magna Charta — 
and devised much new stage business. 

Due in no small degree to the brilliant criticism of Tieck 
and the excellence of the Schlegel-Tieck version, King John 
has been a favorite Shakespeare play in Germany ; and from 
1 80 1, when an adaptation called Arthur, Prinz von E?igland, 
was acted at Altona, it has had a firm hold on the modern 
German stage. Especially notable, because of a stage-setting 
which reproduced in a remarkable way the Elizabethan sim- 
plicity and imaginative appeal, was a revival in 1908 under 
the direction of Eugene Kilian at the Munich Hoftheater. 

1 The Story of my Life, pages 29-31. 



AUTHORITIES 

(With the more important abbreviations used in the notes) 

Fi = First Folio, 1623. 
F 2 = Second Folio, 1632. 
F 3 = Third Folio, 1663, 1664. 
F 4 = Fourth Folio, 16S5. 
Ff = all the seventeenth century Folios. 
Rowe = Rowe's editions, 1709, 17 14. 
Pope = Pope's editions, 1723, 172S. 
Theobald = Theobald's editions, 1733, 1740. 
Hanmer = Hanmer's edition, 1744. 
Johnson = Johnson's edition, 1765. 
Capell = Capell's edition, 1768. 
Malone = Malone's edition, 1790. 
Steevens = Steevens's edition, 1793. 
Staunton = Harvard Staunton's edition, 1S57-1860. 
Globe = Globe edition (Clark and Wright), 1864. 
Dyce = Dyce's (third) edition, 1S75. 
Delius = Delius's (fifth) edition, 1882. 
Camb = Cambridge (third) edition (W.A.Wright), 1891. 
Clar = Clarendon Press edition (W.A.Wright). 
Herford = C. H. Herford's Eversley edition. 
Abbott = E. A. Abbott's A Shakespearian Grammar. 
Bradley = A. C. Bradley's Shakespearean Tragedy, 1904. 
Cotgrave = Cotgrave's Dictionarie of the French and English 

Tongues, 161 1. 
Schmidt = Schmidt's Shakespeare Lexicon. 

Skeat = Skeat's An Etymological Dictionary. 
Murray = A JVezo English Dictionary {The Oxford Dictionary). 
Holinshed = Holinshed's Chronicles (second edition), 1 586-1 5S7. 



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Ixi 



DISTRIBUTION OF CHARACTERS 

In this analysis are shown the acts and scenes in which the char- 
acters (see Dramatis Personae, page 2) appear, with the number of 
speeches and lines given to each. 

Note. Parts of lines are counted as whole lines. 







NO. OF 


NO. OF 






no. of 


NO. OF 






SPEECHES 


LINES 






speeches 


LINES 


King John 


I, i 


16 


48 


Hubert 


III, iii 


5 


8 




II, i 


23 


99 




IV, i 


20 


42 




III, i 


6 


33 




IV, ii 


6 


35 




III, ii 


I 


3 




IV, iii 


10 


25 




III, Hi 


IO 


64 




V, iii 


1 






IV, ii 


22 


120 




V,vi 


10 


24 




V, i 
V, iii 


7 
4 


27 
8 






52 


i35 




V, vii 


4 


28 


RobertFaul-1 


I, i 


4 


14 










conbridge ) 






93 


430 


















Philip the 


I, i 


20 


141 

123 


Prince Henry 


V, vii 


8 


29 


Bastard 


II, i 


15 












III, i 


7 


9 


Arthur 


II, i 

III, i 


2 
1 


9 




III, ii 

III, iii 


2 


8 
5 




III, iii 


1 


1 




IV, ii 


5 


22 




IV, i 


18 


99 




IV, iii 


12 


57 




IV, iii 


1 


10 




V, i 


5 


43 






23 


120 




V, ii 
V, vi 


5 


53 












10 


20 


Pembroke 


IV, ii 


8 


56 




V, vii 


7 


J9 




IV, iii 


7 


9 






S 9 


520 




V, iv 
V, vii 


3 
2 


4 
6 


James Gurney 


I, i 


1 


1 






20 


75 


Peter 


IV, ii 


1 


1 


Essex 


I, i 


1 


3 


Philip, king 


II, i 


24 


115 










of France 


III, i 


9 


48 


Salisbury 


III, i 


3 


6 




Ill.iv 


_9 


26 


% 


IV, ii 

IV, iii 


6 
IS 


28 
46 






42 


^89 




V, i 
V, iv 
V, vii 


1 


32 


Lewis, the 


II, i 


5 


23 




6 


19 


Dauphin 


III, i 


4 


8 




5 


20 




III. iv 


8 


t8 






36 


151 




V, ii 
V, v 


7 

4 


83 

21 


P.IGOT 


IV, iii 


7 


9 






28 


149 



lxii 



DISTRIBUTION OF CHARACTERS 



lxiii 







NO. OF 


NO. OF 






NO. OF 


NO. OF 






SPEECHES 


LINES 






speeches 


LINES 


Duke of 

Austria 


II, i 

III, i 


9 
7 
16 


28 

8 
36 


Blanch 


II, i 

III, i 


3 
6 

9 


15 

31 

42 


Pandulph 


III, i 

III, iv 

V, i 


8 
9 

2 


7r 
67 
11 


Lady Faul- ) 

CONBRIDGE j 


I, i 


5 


15 




V, ii 


4 

23 


JS 

164 


Citizen 


II, i 


10 


64 


Melun 


V, iv 


3 


39 


French ) 
Herald j 


II, i 


- 


12 


Chatillon 


I, i 

II, i 


4 
5 


16 

25 
4i 


English | 
Herald J 


II, i 


1 


13 


Queen Elinor 


I, i 

II, i 


9 

8 


26 
21 


1 Executioner 


IV, i 


2 


2 




III, i 
III, iii 


2 

3 


2 
3 


Messenger 


IV, ii 

V, iii 


4 

2 


14 

8 






22 


52 




V, v 


_3 


6 

28 


Constance 


II, i 

III, i 
Ill.iv 


IO 

17 
8 

35 


48 
142 

li 

264 






9 



THE LIFE AND DEATH OF 
KING JOHN 



DRAMATIS PERSON^ 1 

King John 

Prince Henry, son to the king 

Arthur, Duke of Bretagne, nephew to the king 

The Earl of Pembroke 

The Earl of Essex 

The Earl of Salisbury 

The Lord Bigot 

Hubert de Burgh 

Robert Faulconbridge, son to Sir Robert Faulconbridge 

Philip the Bastard, his half-brother 

James Gurney, servant to Lady Faulconbridge 

Peter of Pomfret, a prophet 

Philip, king of France 

Lewis, the Dauphin 

Lymoges, Duke of Austria 

Cardinal Pandulph, the Pope's legate 

Melun, a French lord, 

Chatillon. ambassador from France to King John 2 

Queen Elinor, 3 mother to King John 

Constance, mother to Arthur 

Blanch of Spain, niece to King John 

Lady Faulconbridge, widow to Sir Robert Faulconbridge 

Lords, Citizens of Angiers, Sheriff, Heralds, Officers, Soldiers, 
Messengers, and other Attendants 

Scene : Partly in England, and partly in France 

1 DRAMATIS PERSONS. Rowe was the first to give a list of the 
characters. 

2 Not a historical character. The Folios spell the word ' Chatyllion,' * Cha- 
tillion,' etc., indicating the English pronunciation. 

3 Elinor. Some modern editors use the form ' Eleanor.' 

2 



ACT I 

Scene I. [King John's palace'] 

Enter King John, Queen Elinor, Pembroke, Essex, 
Salisbury \and ot/iers], with Chatillon 

King John. Now say, Chatillon, what would France 
with us ? 

Chatillon. Thus, after greeting, speaks the king of France, 
In my behaviour to the majesty, 
The borrowed majesty, of England here. 

Elinor. A strange beginning : ' borrowed majesty ' ? 5 

King John. Silence, good mother, hear the embassy. 

Chatillon. Philip of France, in right and true behalf 
Of thy deceased brother Geffrey's son, 
Arthur Plantagenet, lays most lawful claim 
To this fair island, and the territories : 10 

To Ireland, Poictiers, Anjou, Touraine, Maine, 
Desiring thee to lay aside the sword 
Which sways usurpingly these several titles, 
And put the same into young Arthur's hand. 
Thy nephew, and right royal sovereign. 15 

ACT I. Scene I. In the First Folio the play is divided somewhat 
carelessly into acts and scenes, but there is no indication of the loca- 
tion of the scenes. The bracketed matter in this, and in other stage 
directions throughout the play, is the work of Rowe and later editors. 

3. In my behaviour : through my conduct as ambassador. 

4. borrowed. A mild way of saying ' usurped.' Cf. lines 12-15. 

3 



4 THE NEW HUDSON SHAKESPEARE act i 

King John. What follows if we disallow of this ? 

Chatillon. The proud control of fierce and bloody war, 
To enforce these rights, so forcibly withheld. 

King John. Here have we war for war, and blood for blood, 
Controlment for controlment : so answer France. 20 

Chatillon. Then take my king's defiance from my mouth, 
The farthest limit of my embassy. 

King John. Bear mine to him, and so depart in peace : 
Be thou as lightning in the eyes of France ; 
For ere thou canst report, I will be there, 25 

The thunder of my cannon shall be heard: 
So hence ! Be thou the trumpet of our wrath, 
And sullen presage of your own decay : 
An honourable conduct let him have : 

Pembroke, look to 't : farewell, Chatillon. 30 

Exeunt Chatillon and Pembroke 

Elinor. What now, my son ! have I not ever said 
How that ambitious Constance would not cease 
Till she had kindled France and all the world 
Upon the right and party of her son ? 

This might have been prevented, and made whole 35 

With very easy arguments of love, 
Which now the manage of two kingdoms must 
With fearful bloody issue arbitrate. 

16. disallow of : refuse to admit. Cf. Twelfth Night, IV, ii, 6i> '• 
"ere I will allow of thy wits." 

27. trumpet : trumpeter. An example of metonymy. 

28. sullen: gloomy, melancholy. Commonly so. Cf. Romeo and 
Juliet, IV, v, 88 : " Our solemn hymns to sullen dirges change." 

29. conduct : escort. Cf. Twelfth Night, III, iv, 265. 

37. manage: management, administration. Cf. The Merchant of 
Venice, III, iv, 25. From O. Fr. manege, Latin managium (manus). 



scene i KING JOHN 5 

King John. Our strong possession and our right for us. 

Elinor. Your strong possession much more than your 
right, 40 

Or else it must go wrong with you and me. 
So much my conscience whispers in your ear, 
Which none but heaven and you and I shall hear. 

Enter a Sheriff 

Essex. My liege, here is the strangest controversy 
Come from the country to be judg'd by you 45 

That e'er I heard : shall I produce the men ? 

King John. Let them approach : 
Our abbeys and our priories shall pay 
This expedition's charge. 

Enter Robert Faulconbridge, and Philip 

What men are you ? 

Bastard. Your faithful subject, I a gentleman 50 

Born in Northamptonshire, and eldest son, 
As I suppose, to Robert Faulconbridge, 
A soldier by the honour-giving hand 
Of Cceur-de-lion, knighted in the field. 

King John. What art thou ? 55 

Robert. The son and heir to that same Faulconbridge. 

King John. Is that the elder, and art thou the heir ? 
You came not of one mother then, it seems. 

Bastard. Most certain of one mother, mighty king, 
That is well known, and, as I think, one father : 60 

But for the certain knowledge of that truth, 

50. Bastard | Philip Ff. 54. Cceur-de-lion | Cordelion Ff. 



6 THE NEW HUDSON SHAKESPEARE act i 

I put you o'er to heaven and to my mother. 
Of that I doubt, as all men's children may. 

Elinor. Out on thee, rude man ! thou dost shame thy 
mother 
And wound her honour with this diffidence. 65 

Bastard. I, madam ? No, I have no reason for it. 
That is my brother's plea ; and none of mine 
The which if he can prove, a pops me out 
At least from fair five hundred pound a year : 
Heaven guard my mother's honour and my land ! 70 

King John. A good blunt fellow. Why, being younger 
born, 
Doth he lay claim to thine inheritance ? 

Bastard. I know not why, except to get the land : 
But once he slander'd me with bastardy : 
But whe'er I be as true begot or no, 75 

That still I lay upon my mother's head ; 
But that I am as well begot, my liege, — 
Fair fall the bones that took the pains for me ! — 
Compare our faces and be judge yourself. 
If old sir Robert did beget us both 80 

And were our father, and this son like him ; 

old sir Robert, father, on my knee 

1 give heaven thanks I was not like to thee. 

King John. Why, what a madcap hath heaven lent us here ! 
Elinor. He hath a trick of Cceur-de-lion's face, 85 

68. a : he. A dialectic form often written 'a or a'. 
75. whe'er: whether. So in II, i, 167. See Abbott, § 466. 
78. fair fall : may luck prosperously befall. 

85. trick : characteristic peculiarity. The expression is from 
heraldry. Cf. King Lear, IV, vi, 108 : "the trick of that voice." 



scene i KING JOHN 7 

The accent of his tongue affecteth him : 
Do you not read some tokens of my son 
In the large composition of this man ? 

King John. Mine eye hath well examined his parts 
And finds them perfect Richard. Sirrah, speak 90 

What doth move you to claim your brother's land ? 

Bastard. Because he hath a half-face like my father. 
With half that face would he have all my land, 
A half-fac'd groat, five hundred pound a year ! 

Robert. My gracious liege, when that my father liv'd, 95 
Your brother did employ my father much. 

Bastard. Well, sir, by this you cannot get my land : 
Your tale must be how he employ'd my mother. 

Robert. And once dispatch'd him in an embassy 
To Germany, there with the emperor 100 

To treat of high affairs touching that time. 
Th' advantage of his absence took the king 
And in the mean time sojourn'd at my father's ; 
Where how he did prevail, I shame to speak, 
But truth is truth, large lengths of seas and shores 105 

Between my father and my mother lay, 
As I have heard my father speak himself 

86. affecteth : resembles, takes after. A rare use of the word. 
88. large composition: big build. Cf. / Henry VI, II, iii, 75. 

92. half-face : profile. Some editors interpret it as ' thin, narrow 
face.' 

93. half that face. Theobald proposed to read ' that half face.' 

94. half-fac'd groat. The groats of Henry VII had the royal face 
in profile. Hence the phrase * half-faced groat ' came to be used 
contemptuously of a meager visage. Cf. 2 Henry IV, III, ii, 283 : 
" this same half-fac'd fellow, Shallow." The groat was first coined in 
the reign of Edward III, a century after the time of King John. 



8 THE NEW HUDSON SHAKESPEARE act i 

When this same lusty gentleman was got : 

Upon his death-bed he by will bequeath'd 

His lands to me, and took it on his death no 

That this my mother's son was none of his ; 

And if he were, he came into the world 

Full fourteen weeks before the course of time : 

Then, good my liege, let me have what is mine, 

My father's land, as was my father's will. 115 

King John. Sirrah, your brother is legitimate. 
Your father's wife did after wedlock bear him, 
And if she did play false, the fault was hers ; 
Which fault lies on the hazards of all husbands 
That marry wives : tell me, how if my brother, * 120 

Who, as you say, took pains to get this son, 
Had of your father claim'd this son for his : 
In sooth, good friend, your father might have kept 
This calf bred from his cow from all the world : 
In sooth he might: then, if he were my brother's, 125 

My brother might not claim him, nor your father, 
Being none of his, refuse him. This concludes 
My mother's son did get your father's heir ; 
Your father's heir must have your father's land. 

Robert. Shall then my father's will be of no force 13c 

no. took it: affirmed it. Cf. / Henry IV, V, iv, 154-155: "I'll 
take it upon my death I gave him this wound in the thigh." 

114. good my liege : my good liege. See Abbott, § 13. 

119. on the hazards : among the ventures. Cf. V, vi, 7. ' Hazard' 
was originally a game of chance with dice. Cf. Richard III, V, iv, 10. 

123-124. kept . . . from all the world : retained against the claims 
of all the world. Steevens points out that according to Hindu law 
calves belonged solely to the proprietors of the cows. 

127. Being none of his : although he was none of his. 



scene i KING JOHN 9 

To dispossess that child which is not his ? 

Bastard. Of no more force to dispossess me, sir, 
Than was his will to get me, as I think. 

Elinor. Whether hadst thou rather be a Faulconbridge, 
And, like thy brother, to enjoy thy land, 135 

Or the reputed son of Cceur-de-lion, 
Lord of thy presence and no land beside ? 

Bastard. Madam, and if my brother had my shape 
And I had his, Sir Robert's his, like him ; 
And if my legs were two such riding-rods, 140 

My arms such eel-skins stuff'd, my face so thin 
That in mine ear I durst not stick a rose 
Lest men should say ' Look, where three-farthings goes ! ' 
And, to his shape, were heir to all this land, — 
Would I might never stir from off this place ! — 145 

138. and if Ff | an if Hanmer Globe. 

137. presence : (objective) personality, outward appearance. Cf. 
Romeo and Jtcliet, I, v, 75 : " Show a fair presence and put off these 
frowns " ; Troihcs and Cressida, III, iii, 272-273 : " I will put on his 
presence." Halliwell-Phillips quotes Sir Henry Wotton (156S-1639), 
" Character of a Happy Life " : 

Lord of himself, though not of lands, 
And having nothing, yet hath all. 

139. The general meaning is obvious : " if my brother had my 
shape and I had his." With each ' his ' he points at Robert's figure ; 
with ' him ' he points at Robert's face. The second r his' repeats the 
first, with dramatic effect. 

140. riding-rods : rods or switches used in riding. 

142-143. Elizabeth coined three-farthing pieces of silver. These 
bore the queen's profile with a rose behind her ear. Being of silver, 
they were very thin. A thin-faced beau wearing the customary rose 
in his earlock might well be compared to them. 

144. to : in addition to. Frequently so. Cf. Macbeth, III, i, 52. 



IO THE NEW HUDSON SHAKESPEARE act i 

I would give it every foot to have this face ; 
I would not be Sir Nob in any case. 

Elinor. I like thee well : wilt thou forsake thy fortune, 
Bequeath thy land to him, and follow me ? 
I am a soldier, and now bound to France. 150 

Bastard. Brother, take you my land, I '11 take my chance. 
Your face hath got five hundred pound a year, 
Yet sell your face for five pence and 't is dear. 
Madam, I '11 follow you unto the death. 

Elinor. Nay, I would have you go before me thither. 155 

Bastard. Our country manners give our betters way. 

King John. What is thy name ? 

Bastard. Philip, my liege, so is my name begun; 
Philip, good old Sir Robert's wife's eldest son. 

King John. From henceforth bear his name whose form 
thou bear'st : 160 

Kneel thou down Philip, but rise more great, 
Arise Sir Richard and Plantagenet. 

Bastard. Brother by th' mother's side, give me your hand ; 
My father gave me honour, yours gave land. 
Now blessed be the hour, by night or day, 165 

When I was got, Sir Robert was away ! 

Elinor. The very spirit of Plantagenet ! 
I am thy grandam, Richard ; call me so. 

Bastard. Madam, by chance but not by truth ; what though ? 

147. I F2F3F4 I It Fi. 

147. Nob : Robert. A familiar name, used here contemptuously. 

162. Plantagenet. Originally a nickname given to the first Earl of 
Anjou, who wore a twig of broom {planta genista) in his bonnet. 

169. by truth : honestly. Cf. ' true,' Much Ado About Nothing, III, 
iii, 1. — what though: what of it? Cf. Henry V, II, i, 9. 



scene i KING JOHN II 

Something about, a little from the right, 170 

In at the window, or else o'er the hatch : 
Who dares not stir by day must walk by night, 

And have is have, however men do catch : 
Near or far off, well won is still well shot, 
And I am I, howe'er I was begot. 175 

King John. Go, Faulconbridge : now hast thou thy desire; 
A landless knight makes thee a landed squire. 
Come, madam, and come, Richard, we must speed 
For France, for France, for it is more than need. 

Bastard. Brother, adieu : good fortune come to thee ! 
For thou wast got i' th' way of honesty. 181 

Exeunt all but Bastard 
A foot of honour better than I was ; 
But many a many foot of land the worse. 
Well, now can I make any Joan a lady. 
* Good den, Sir Richard ! ' — * God-a-mercy, fellow ! ' — 185 
And if his name be George, I '11 call him Peter ; 
For new-made honour doth forget men's names ; 

170. Somewhat about, a little out of the beaten path. 

171. hatch : the lower half of a divided door. The upper half 
could be open while the lower half was closed. Cf. King Lear, III, 
vi, 76 : " Dogs leap the hatch, and all are fled." 

174. Near or far off : close to or wide of the mark. 

177. A landless knight. Philip had given his land to his brother. 

185. Philip gives an example of the salutation of a vassal, and his 
reply to it. — Good den: good evening. A salutation after noon. 
Mutilated from ' God give you good even.' Cf. Romeo and Juliet, II, 
iv, 116. — God-a-mercy: God have mercy, God reward you. The 
phrase came to be a mere expression of thanks. Cf. Hamlet, IV, 
v, 199 ; II, ii, 171-172 : 

Polonius. How does my good Lord Hamlet? 
Hamlet. Well, God-a-mercy, 



12 THE NEW HUDSON SHAKESPEARE act I 

'T is too respective and too sociable 

For your conversion. Now your traveller, 

He and his toothpick at my worship's mess, 190 

And when my knightly stomach is suffic'd, 

Why then I suck my teeth and catechize 

My picked man of countries : * My dear sir,' 

Thus, leaning on mine elbow, I begin, 

1 1 shall beseech you ' — that is question now ; 195 

And then comes answer like an Absey book : 

* O sir,' says answer, ' at your best command, 
At your employment ; at your service, sir ' : 

* No, sir,' says question, f I, sweet sir, at yours ' : 

And so ere answer knows what question would, 200 

Saving in dialogue of compliment, 
And talking of the Alps and Apennines, 
The Pyrenean and the river Po, 

188-189. 'T is . . . conversion : remembering men's names implies 
too much thought of others, and too much community of feeling, 
for one that has just been lifted into nobility of rank. He thus 
ridicules the affectations of aristocratic greenhorns. — respective : 
considerate. Cf. The Merchant of Venice, V, i, 1 56. 

189. traveller. In Shakespeare's time, which was an age of newly 
awakened curiosity, with but small means of gratifying it, travelers 
were much welcomed to the tables of the rich and noble. This 
naturally brought about a good deal of imposture from such as were 
more willing to wag their tongues than to work with their hands. 

190. toothpick. The traveler uses the foreign custom of picking 
his teeth, while the host sucks his (line 192). 

193. picked : fastidious. With a play on 'toothpick' (line 190). Cf. 
Love's Labour's Lost, V, i, 14-16: "He is too picked, too spruce, 
too affected, too odd, as it were, too peregrinate, as I may call it." 

196. Absey book : ABC book, primer (often with catechism ; 
suggested here by 'catechize,' line 192). 

203. Pyrenean : Pyrenees. It represents the Latin Mons Pyrenceus, 



scene I KING JOHN 13 

It draws toward supper in conclusion so. 

But this is worshipful society, 205 

And fits the mounting spirit like myself ; 

For he is but a bastard to the time 

That doth not smack of observation, 

And so am I, whether I smack or no : 

And not alone in habit and device, 210 

Exterior form, outward accoutrement ; 

But from the inward motion to deliver 

Sweet, sweet, sweet poison for the age's tooth ; 

Which though I will not practise to deceive, 

Yet, to avoid deceit, I mean to learn ; 215 

For it shall strew the footsteps of my rising. 

But who comes in such haste in riding-robes ? 

What woman-post is this ? hath she no husband 

That will take pains to blow a horn before her ? 

207. a bastard to the time : no true child of the age. 

208. observation. A play on the two meanings of the word, ' see- 
ing the world ' and ' obsequiousness.' He has neither the outward 
show (lines 210, 211) of the fastidious traveler (line 193), nor the 
inner impulse to be a flatterer (lines 212, 213). 

212. motion: impulse. Cf. IV, ii, 255. 

214-215. Though I will not practice administering the poison of 
flattery for the sake of deceiving, yet to avoid being deceived I 
mean to learn its use. The Bastard intends to study the arts of 
popularity, not to deceive the people, but to overmatch the cheats 
and demagogues about him. Shakespeare here prepares us for the 
honest and noble part which Faulconbridge takes in the play. 

216. Ci. Julius Ccesar, I, i, 55-56 : "And do you now strew flowers in 
his way, That comes in triumph"; Antony and Cleopatra, I, iii, 1 00-101 : 
" and smooth success Be strew'd before your feet " ; Matthew, xxi, 8. 

219. horn. A double allusion. A post carried a horn (cf. The 
Merchant of Venice, V, i, 47), and a man deceived by his wife was 
said to wear horns (cf. Muck Ado About Nothing, I, i, 266). 



14 THE NEW HUDSON SHAKESPEARE act i 

Enter Lady Faulconbridge and James Gurney 

Ome! 't is my mother. How now, good lady ? 220 

What brings you here to court so hastily ? 

Lady Faulconbridge. Where is that slave, thy brother ? 
where is he, 
That holds in chase mine honour up and down ? 

Bastard. My brother Robert ? old Sir Robert's son ? 
Colbrand the giant, that same mighty man? 225 

Is it Sir Robert's son that you seek so ? 

Lady Faulconbridge. Sir Robert's son ! ay, thou un- 
reverend boy, 
Sir Robert's son ? why scorn'st thou at Sir Robert ? 
He is Sir Robert's son, and so art thou. 229 

Bastard. James Gurney, wilt thou give us leave awhile ? 

Gurney. Good leave, good Philip. 

Bastard. Philip ! sparrow : James, 

There 's toys abroad : anon I '11 tell thee more. Exit Gurney 

225. Colbrand. The Danish giant whom Guy of Warwick van- 
quished in the presence of King Athelstan. Cf. Henry VIII, V, iv, 22. 

231. Good leave, good Philip. Gurney's only speech. Coleridge 
says, " How individual and comical he is with the four words allowed 
to his dramatic life!" — Philip ! sparrow. Gurney's use of the old 
name enables Philip to make a pun. The sparrow was called Philip 
(or Phip), because its note resembles that name. Cf. Lyly, Mother 
Bombie : " Phip, phip, the sparrowes as they flye." So also in 
Skelton, Dirge for Phyllip Sparowe : 

And whan I sayd, ' Phyp ! Phyp ! ' 
Than wold he lepe and skyp, 
And take me by the lyp. 

Catullus, in his elegy on Lesbia's sparrow, coined the verb pipilabat, 
to express the note of that bird. 

232. toys : odd stories. Cf . A Midsummer Night's Dream, V, i, 3 : 
" These antique fables, nor these fairy toys." 



scene i KING JOHN 15 

Madam, I was not old Sir Robert's son: 

Sir Robert might have eat his part in me 

Upon Good Friday and ne'er broke his fast : 235 

Sir Robert could do well : marry, to confess, 

Could he get me ? Sir Robert could not do it : 

We know his handiwork : therefore, good mother, 

To whom am I beholding for these limbs ? 

Sir Robert never holp to make this leg. 240 

Lady Faulconbridge. Hast thou conspired with thy 
brother too, 
That for thine own gain shouldst defend mine honour ? 
What means this scorn, thou most untoward knave ? 

Bastard. Knight, knight, good mother, Basilisco-like : 
What ! I am dubb'd ! I have it on my shoulder. 245 

But, mother, I am not Sir Robert's son ; 
I have disclaim'd Sir Robert and my land ; 
Legitimation, name and all is gone ; 
Then, good my mother, let me know my father : 
Some proper man, I hope: who was it, mother? 250 

Lady Faulconbridge. Hast thou denied thyself a Faul- 
conbridge ? 

Bastard. As faithfully as I deny the devil. 

239. beholding: beholden, indebted. See Abbott, § 372. 

244. Knight . . . Basilisco-like. Like Basilisco, he would be called 
'knight,' not 'knave' (line 243). The allusion is to Kyd's Solivian 
and Perseda, I, iii, 169-17 1 : 

*Piston. I, the aforesaid Basilisco, — 
Basilisco. I, the aforesaid Basilisco — Knight, good fellow, Knight, 

Knight — 
Piston. Knave, good fellow, Knave, Knave .... 

249. good my mother: my good mother. See note, line 114. 

250. proper : comely. Often so in sixteenth century literature. 



l6 THE NEW HUDSON SHAKESPEARE act i 

Lady Faulconbridge. King Richard Cceur-de-lion was 
thy father : 
By long and vehement suit I was seduc'd 
To make room for him in my husband's bed : 255 

Heaven lay not my transgression to my charge ! 
Thou art the issue of my dear offence, 
Which was so strongly urg'd past my defence. 

Bastard. Now, by this light, were I to get again, 
Madam, I would not wish a better father. 260 

Some sins do bear their privilege on earth, 
And so doth yours ; your fault was not your folly : 
Needs must you lay your heart at his dispose, 
Subjected tribute to commanding love, 

Against whose fury and unmatched force 265 

The aweless lion could not wage the fight, 
Nor keep his princely heart from Richard's hand. 
He that perforce robs lions of their hearts 
May easily win a woman's. Ay, my mother, 
With all my heart I thank thee for my father ! 270 

Who lives and dares but say thou didst not well 
When I was got, I '11 send his soul to hell. 
Come, lady, I will show thee to my kin; 

And they shall say, when Richard me begot, 
If thou hadst said him nay, it had been sin ; 275 

Who says it was, he lies : I say 't was not. Exeimt 

257. Thou F4 I That F1F2F3 Delius. 

257. dear: grievous. 'Dear' is used in Elizabethan literature to 
describe anything that affects us deeply, for joy or pain. 

266. aweless : not to be awed, dauntless. The allusion is to the 
legend that Richard derived his name of Lion-heart from having torn 
out and eaten the heart of a lion, to which he had been exposed by 
the Duke of Austria. Cf. II, i, 3. 



ACT II 

Scene I. [France] Before Anglers 

Enter Austria [and forces, drums, etc. on one side : on the 
other] King Philip of France [and his power] ; Lewis, 
Arthur, Constance [and Attendants] 

Lewis. Before Angiers well met, brave Austria. 
Arthur, that great forerunner of thy blood, 
Richard, that robb'd the lion of his heart, 
And fought the holy wars in Palestine, 
By this brave duke came early to his grave : 5 

And for amends to his posterity, 
At our importance hither is he come, 
To spread his colours, boy, in thy behalf, 
And to rebuke the usurpation 

Of thy unnatural uncle, English John : 10 

Embrace him, love him, give him welcome hither. 

Arthur. God shall forgive you Cceur-de-lion's death 
The rather that you give his offspring life, 
Shadowing their right under your wings of war : 
I give you welcome with a powerless hand, 15 

Act II. Scene I Rowe | Scaena Secunda Ff. 

1. Austria. Leopold, Duke of Austria, who imprisoned Richard. 

2. Arthur was Richard's nephew. The terms 'forerunner,' 'pos- 
terity' (lines 6, 96), 'offspring' (line 13), are used very loosely. 

7. importance: importunity. Cf. Twelfth Night, V, i, 371. 
9. rebuke : check, repress. Cf. Macbeth, III, i, 56. 
17 



18 THE NEW HUDSON SHAKESPEARE act ii 

But with a heart full of unstained love : 
Welcome before the gates of Angiers, duke. 

Lewis. A noble boy ! who would not do thee right ? 

Austria. Upon thy cheek lay I this zealous kiss, 
As seal to this indenture of my love, 20 

That to my home I will no more return, 
Till Angiers and the right thou hast in France, 
Together with that pale, that white-fac'd shore, 
Whose foot spurns back the ocean's roaring tides, 
And coops from other lands her islanders, 25 

Even till that England, hedg'd in with the main, 
That water-walled bulwark, still secure 
And confident from foreign purposes, 
Even till that utmost corner of the west 
Salute thee for her king : till then, fair boy, 30 

Will I not think of home, but follow arms. 

Constance. O, take his mother's thanks, a widow's thanks, 
Till your strong hand shall help to give him strength 
To make a more requital to your love ! 

Austria. The peace of heaven is theirs that lift their swords 
In such a just and charitable war. 36 

29. utmost F1F2F3 I outmost F4. 35- that F1F2F3 I who F4. 

16. unstained. Cf. V, vii, 106-107 ; Pericles, I, i, 53. 

18. do thee right : take thy part. Often so, 

20. indenture : contract. For the history of the word see Murray. 

23. The chalk cliffs at Dover, visible from the opposite shore. 
'Albion' (Latin a/bus, 'white') is an ancient name of Britain. Cf. 
Henry V, III, v, 14: " In that nook-shotten isla of Albion." 

27. water-walled bulwark. Cf. Richard II, II, i, 43-48. — still: 
always. Often so. Cf. Coriolanus, II, i, 262. — secure: free from 
care, untroubled. The original (Latin) meaning. So in IV, i, 130. 

34. more : greater. Cf. ' a more contempt,' The Comedy of Errors, 
II, ii, 174 ; " The more and less," 1 Henry IV, IV, iii, 68. 



scene I KING JOHN 19 

King Philip. Well then, to work : our cannon shall be bent 
Against the brows of this resisting town. 
Call for our chiefest men of discipline, 

To cull the plots of best advantages : 40 

We '11 lay before this town our royal bones, 
Wade to the market-place in Frenchmen's blood, 
But we will make it subject to this boy. 

Constance. Stay for an answer to your embassy, 
Lest unadvis'd you stain your swords with blood : 45 

My Lord Chatillon may from England bring 
That right in peace which here we urge in war, 
And then we shall repent each drop of blood 
That hot rash haste so indirectly shed. 

Enter Chatillon 

King Philip. A wonder, lady ! lo, upon thy wish 50 
Our messenger Chatillon is arriv'd ! 
What England says, say briefly, gentle lord ; 
We coldly pause for thee ; Chatillon, speak. 

Chatillon. Then turn your forces from this paltry siege 
And stir them up against a mightier task. 55 

England, impatient of your just demands, 

37. cannon. To avoid the anachronism Pope substituted ' engines.' 

39. discipline: military science. So in lines 261, 413. 

40. To select the most advantageous places for assault. 

43. But we will : if we do not. Cf. The Taming of the Shrew, IV, 
iv, 2-3 : " and but I be deceived, Signior Baptista may remember 
me." See Abbott, § 120. 

45. unadvis'd : without due consideration, inconsiderate. As in 
line 191 ; V, ii, 132. Cf. Romeo and Juliet, II, ii, 118. 

49. indirectly : not with a straight course, wrongfully- Cf. ' in- 
direct,' 'indirection,' III, i, 275, 276. Cf. Henry V, II, iv, 94. 

53. coldly : coolly, calmly. Cf. Much Ado About Nothing, III, ii, 134. 



20 THE NEW HUDSON SHAKESPEARE act ii 

Hath put himself in arms : the adverse winds, 

Whose leisure I have stay'd, have given him time 

To land his legions all as soon as I ; 

His marches are expedient to this town, 60 

His forces strong, his soldiers confident. 

W T ith him along is come the mother-queen, 

An Ate, stirring him to blood and strife ; 

With her her niece, the Lady Blanch of Spain ; 

With them a bastard of the king's deceas'd, 65 

And all th' unsettled humours of the land, 

Rash, inconsiderate, fiery voluntaries, 

With ladies' faces and fierce dragons' spleens, 

Have sold their fortunes at their native homes, 

Bearing their birthrights proudly on their backs, 70 

To make a hazard of new fortunes here : 

In brief, a braver choice of dauntless spirits 

Than now the English bottoms have waft o'er 

Did never float upon the swelling tide, 

To do offence and scath in Christendom : 75 

63. Ate Rowe | Ace Ff. 65. king's Fi | king F2F3F4. 

58. stay'd : stayed for, waited for. Cf. Richard II, I, iii, 4. 

59. all as soon: quite as soon. Cf. Ill, iv, 125. See Abbott, § 28. 

60. expedient: expeditious. Cf. line 223; IV, ii, 268. 

63. Ate : the goddess of infatuation. Pronounced a'te. 

64. niece. Here used vaguely for ' granddaughter.' 

65. the king's deceas'd : the deceased king's. 

66. humours : men of humour. Cf. ' affliction,' III, iv, 36 ; 'horror,' 
V, i, 50. The abstract has more point than the concrete. 

67. voluntaries : volunteers. Cf. Troilus and Cressida, II, i, 106. 
73. bottoms: ships. Cf. Twelfth Night, V, i, 60. —waft: wafted. 

Such forms are common. See Abbott, § 342. 

75. scath: harm. Cf. Titus Andronicus, V, i, 7. Cf. 'unscathed.' 



scene i KING JOHN 21 

The interruption of their churlish drums 
Cuts off more circumstance : they are at hand, 

Drum beats 
To parley or to fight ; therefore prepare. 

King Philip. How much unlook'd for is this expedition. 

Austria. By how much unexpected, by so much 80 

We must awake endeavour for defence ; 
For courage mounteth with occasion : 
Let them be welcome then ; we are prepar'd. 

Enter King John, Elinor, Blanch, the Bastard, Lords, 
a?id others 

King John. Peace be to France, if France in peace permit 
Our just and lineal entrance to our own ; 85 

If not, bleed France, and peace ascend to heaven, 
Whiles we, God's wrathful agent, do correct 
Their proud contempt that beats His peace to heaven. 

King Philip. Peace be to England, if that war return 
From France to England, there to live in peace. 90 

England we love, and for that England's sake 
With burden of our armour here we sweat. 
84. Scene II Pope. 

77. more circumstance: further details. Cf. Hamlet, I, v, 127. 
79. expedition : speed. Cf. ' expedient,' line 60. 
82. with occasion : when the emergency demands. 
85. just and lineal : by hereditary right. 

87. correct : punish. Cf. Henry VIII, III, ii, 335. 

88. Their . . . beats : the proud contempt of them that beat. ' Their,' 
retaining its face as the genitive of ' they,' is the antecedent of the 
relative 'that.' Cf. All's Well that Ends Well, III, iv, 27: "her 
prayers, whom heaven delights to hear." See Abbott, § 218. 

89. if that: if. So in III, iii, 48; III, iv, 163; IV, iii, 59. See 
Abbott, § 287. 



22 THE NEW HUDSON SHAKESPEARE act ii 

This toil of ours should be a work of thine ; 

But thou from loving England art so far, 

That thou hast under-wrought his lawful king, 95 

Cut off the sequence of posterity, 

Out-faced infant state, and done a rape 

Upon the maiden virtue of the crown. 

Look here upon thy brother Geffrey's face ; 

These eyes, these brows, were moulded out of his ; 100 

This little abstract doth contain that large 

Which died in Geffrey, and the hand of time 

Shall draw this brief into as huge a volume : 

That Geffrey was thy elder brother born, 

And this his son : England was Geffrey's right, 105 

And this is Geffrey's : in the name of God 

How comes it then that thou art call'd a king, 

When living blood doth in these temples beat 

Which owe the crown that thou o'ermasterest ? 

King John. From whom hast thou this great commis- 
sion, France, no 
To draw my answer from thy articles ? 

95 under-wrought : undermined. — his : its. ' Its ' was just coming 
into use in Shakespeare's day. Cf. line 202 ; V, vii, 114. Cf. ' her,' 
line 255 V, vii, 115. In line 56 ' England ' means the king of England, 
and hence is masculine ('himself,' line 57). Cf. 'France,' line no. 

96-98. Interrupted the hereditary succession, boldly looked infant 
majesty out of countenance, and shamefully taken his crown. 

99. thy brother Geffrey's face. He points to Arthur. 

101. abstract. Geffrey is a book, of which Arthur is the epitome. 

106. this: Arthur. As in line 105. 

109. owe: own. As in line 248 ; IV, i, 123. Often so. 

in. draw: frame. — from: out of. — articles: indictment (drawn 
up in articles). Cf. Richard II, IV, i, 243. ' Draw ' and ' articles ' are 
legal terms, suggested by the expressions in line 103. 



scene i KING JOHN 23 

King Philip. From that supernal judge that stirs good 
thoughts 
In any breast of strong authority, 
To look into the blots and stains of right : 
That judge hath made me guardian to this boy, 115 

Under whose warrant I impeach thy wrong, 
And by whose help I mean to chastise it. 

King John. Alack, thou dost usurp authority. 

King Philip. Excuse ; it is to beat usurping down. 

Elinor. Who is it thou dost call usurper, France ? 1 20 

Constance. Let me make answer : thy usurping son. 

Elinor. Out, insolent ! thy bastard shall be king, 
That thou mayst be a queen, and check the world. 

Constance. My bed was ever to thy son as true 
As thine was to thy husband, and this boy 125 

Liker in feature to his father Geffrey 
Than thou and John in manners ; being as like 
As rain to water, or devil to his dam. 
My boy a bastard ! By my soul, I think 
His father never was so true begot : 130 

It cannot be, and if thou wert his mother. 

Elinor. There 's a good mother, boy, that blots thy father. 

Constance. There 's a good grandam, boy, that would 
blot thee. 

131, 139. and Ff | an Theobald. 

119. Excuse : pardon me. The Folios have no stop after ' Excuse,' 
and the passage may mean : That we do it to beat down usurpation 
is excuse enough for our action. 

123. Perhaps a metaphor taken from chess. 

126. feature : form, fashion. As in IV, ii, 264. Cf. Hamlet, III, i, 
167. Shakespeare does not use the word in reference to the parts 
of the face. 



24 THE NEW HUDSON SHAKESPEARE act n 

Austria. Peace ! 

Bastard. Hear the crier. 

Austria. What the devil art thou ? 

Bastard. One that will play the devil, sir, with you, 135 
And a may catch your hide and you alone : 
You are the hare of whom the proverb goes, 
Whose valour plucks dead lions by the beard • 
I '11 smoke your skin-coat and I catch you right : 
Sirrah, look to 't ; i' faith I will, i' faith. 140 

Blanch. O well did he become that lion's robe 
That did disrobe the lion of that robe. 

Bastard. It lies as sightly on the back of him 
As great Alcides' shows upon an ass : 

But, ass, I '11 take that burden from your back, 145 

Or lay on that shall make your shoulders crack. 

Austria. What cracker is this same that deafs our ears 
With this abundance of superfluous breath ? 
King Philip, determine what we shall do straight. 

King Philip. Women and fools, break off your conference. 

144. shows Theobald | shooes Ff. 

134. crier. A sarcastic reply to Austria's ' Peace.' Courts of justice 
had criers to proclaim silence. 

136. a : he. Cf. I, i, 68, and see note. — hide. What most of all 
kindles the wrath of Faulconbridge against Austria is that the latter, 
after having caused the death of King Richard, now wears the lion's 
hide which had belonged to that prince. 

W-^ 8 - Malone quotes Erasmus {Adagio) : " Mortuo leoni et 
lepores insultant." Steevens quotes The Spanish Tragedy. "So 
hares may pull dead lions by the beard." 

144. Alcides' shows : the skin of the Nemean lion worn by Hercules. 

147. cracker: boaster. With wordplay on ' crack,' line 146. 

149. King Philip. The Folios read ' King Lewis ' and give the 
following speech to Lewis. Theobald made the emendation. 



scene I KING JOHN 25 

King John, this is the very sum of all ; 151 

England and Ireland, Anjou, Touraine, Maine, 

In right of Arthur do I claim of thee : 

Wilt thou resign them and lay down thy arms ? 

King John. My life as soon : I do defy thee, France : 155 
Arthur of Bretagne, yield thee to my hand ; 
And out of my dear love I '11 give thee more 
Than e'er the coward hand of France can win ; 
Submit thee, boy. 

Elinor. Come to thy grandam, child. 

Constance. Do, child, go to it grandam, child; 160 

Give grandam kingdom, and it grandam will 
Give it a plum, a cherry, and a fig : 
There 's a good grandam. 

Arthur. Good my mother, peace ! 

I would that I were low laid in my grave : 
I am not worth this coil that 's made for me. 165 

Elinor. His mother shames him so, poor boy, he weeps. 

Constance. Now shame upon you, whe'er she does or no ! 
His grandam's wrongs, and not his mother's shames 
Draws those heaven-moving pearls from his poor eyes, 
Which heaven shall take in nature of a fee : 170 

Ay, with these crystal beads heaven shall be brib'd 
To do him justice, and revenge on you. 

156. Bretagne Hanmer | Britaine F1F2 i Britain F3. 

160. it : its. Shakespeare has many instances of ' it ' used posses- 
sively, for ' its,' which was not then an accepted word. In such cases 
modern editors generally, and justly, print ' its ' instead of ' it.' The 
text, however, should probably pass as an exception to the rule, 
since, as Lettsom remarks, " Constance here is evidently mimicking 
the imperfect babble of the nursery." 

165. coil : bustle, tumult, fuss. Frequently so. 



26 THE NEW HUDSON SHAKESPEARE act ii 

Elinor. Thou monstrous slanderer of heaven and earth ! 

Constance. Thou monstrous injurer of heaven and earth ! 
Call not me slanderer; thou and thine usurp 175 

The dominations, royalties, and rights 
Of this oppressed boy ; this is thy eldest son's son, 
Infortunate in nothing but in thee : 
Thy sins are visited in this poor child ; 
The canon of the law is laid on him, 180 

Being but the second generation 
Removed from thy sin-conceiving womb. 

King John. Bedlam, have done. 

Constance. I have but this to say, 

That he is not only plagued for her sin, 
But God hath made her sin and her the plague 1S5 

On this removed issue, plagued for her 
And with her plague ; her sin his injury, 
Her injury the beadle to her sin, 
All punish'd in the person of this child, 
And all for her : a plague upon her ! 190 

178. infortunate. This form of the word with the Latin prefix is 
found also in 2 Henry VI, IV, ix, 18. 

187-189. The Folios read and punctuate thus : 

And with her plague her sinne ; his iniury 
Her iniurie the Beadle to her sinne, 
All punish'd . . . 

Constance still has in mind the words of the Mosaic law (line 180) : 
"visiting the sins of the fathers upon the children unto the third and 
fourth generation." And she means that Arthur not only suffers in 
consequence of Elinor's crime, or on her account, but is also plagued 
by her, as the direct agent or instrument of his sufferings. 

188. beadle : the officer who executes the sentence of the court upon 
persons condemned. The meaning is that Elinor's sin draws evil 
upon Arthur, and that her sin is moreover the executioner of that evil. 



scene I KING JOHN 27 

Elinor. Thou unadvised scold, I can produce 
A will that bars the title of thy son. 

Constance. Ay, who doubts that ? a will ! a wicked will ; 
A woman's will ; a cank'red grandam's will ! 194 

King Philip. Peace, lady ! pause, or be more temperate: 
It ill beseems this presence to cry aim 
To these ill-tuned repetitions : 
Some trumpet summon hither to the walls 
These men of Angiers : let us hear them speak 
Whose title they admit, Arthur's or John's. 200 



7) 



mmpet sounds. Enter a Citizen upon the walls 

Citizen. Who is it that hath warn'd us to the walls ? 

King Philip. 'Tis France, for England. 

King John. England, for itself. 

You men of Angiers, and my loving subjects, — 

King Philip. You loving men of Angiers, Arthur's 
subjects, 
Our trumpet call'd you to this gentle parle, — 205 

King John. For our advantage ; therefore hear us first. 
These flags of France, that are advanced here 
Before the eye and prospect of your town, 
Have hither march'd to your endamagement. 
The cannons have their bowels full of wrath, 210 

And ready mounted are they to spit forth 

191. unadvised: inconsiderate, reckless, rash. So Shakespeare 
often has 'advised' for 'considerate,' or 'careful.' So 'unadvis'd' 
in line 45 : " Lest unadvis'd you stain your swords with blood." 

194. cank'red: corrupted. Cf. 'canker,' III, iv, 82; V, ii, 14. 

196. to cry aim : encourage, instigate. A term in archery. Cf. 
Merry Wives of Windsor, III, ii, 45. 



28 THE NEW HUDSON SHAKESPEARE act ii 

Their iron indignation 'gainst your walls : 

All preparation for a bloody siege 

And merciless proceeding by these French 

Confronts your city's eyes, your winking gates ; 215 

And but for our approach those sleeping stones, 

That as a waist doth girdle you about, 

By the compulsion of their ordinance 

By this time from their fixed beds of lime 

Had been dishabited, and wide havoc made 220 

For bloody power to rush upon your peace. 

But on the sight of us your lawful king, 

Who painfully with much expedient march 

Have brought a countercheck before your gates, 

To save unscratch'd your city's threat'ned cheeks, 225 

Behold, the French amaz'd vouchsafe a parle ; 

And now instead of bullets wrapp'd in fire, 

To make a shaking fever in your walls, 

They shoot but calm words folded up in smoke, 

To make a faithless error in your ears ; 230 

Which trust accordingly, kind citizens, 

And let us in, your king, whose labour'd spirits, 

Forwearied in this action of swift speed, 

Craves harbourage within your city walls. 

King Philip. When I have said, make answer to us 
both. 235 

Lo, in this right hand, whose protection 
Is most divinely vow'd upon the right 
Of him it holds, stands young Plantagenet, 

215. Confronts | Comfort Ff. 

218. ordinance: ordnance. So in Jfetuy V, II, iv, 126. 

220. dishabited : dislodged. The verb is found nowhere else. 



scene i KING JOHN 29 

Son to the elder brother of this man, 

And king o'er him, and all that he enjoys : 240 

For this down-trodden equity, we tread 

In warlike march these greens before your town, 

Being no further enemy to you 

Than the constraint of hospitable zeal 

In the relief of this oppressed child 245 

Religiously provokes. Be pleased then 

To pay that duty which you truly owe 

To him that owes it, namely, this young prince ; 

And then our arms, like to a muzzled bear, 

Save in aspect, hath all offence seal'd up : 250 

Our cannons' malice vainly shall be spent 

Against th' invulnerable clouds of heaven, 

And with a blessed and unvex'd retire, 

With unhack'd swords, and helmets all unbruis'd, 

We will bear home that lusty blood again 255 

Which here we came to spout against your town, 

And leave your children, wives, and you in peace. 

But if you fondly pass our proffer'd offer, 

'T is not the roundure of your old-fac'd walls 

Can hide you from our messengers of war, 260 

Though all these English and their discipline 

Were harbour'd in their rude circumference. 

Then tell us, shall your city call us lord, 

In that behalf which we have challeng'd it ? 

248. owes: owns. So in line 109, where Pope changed 'owe' to 
' own.' ' Owe ' in line 247 has the present meaning. 

258. fondly : foolishly. — offer. In earlier editions of Hudson's 
Shakespeare ' peace ' was substituted to avoid the seeming cacophony. 

259. roundure : circle, girdle. From the French rondeur. 



30 THE NEW HUDSON SHAKESPEARE act ii 

Or shall we give the signal to our rage 265 

And stalk in blood to our possession ? 

Citizen. In brief, we are the king of England's subjects : 
For him, and in his right, we hold this town. 

King John. Acknowledge then the king, and let me in. 

Citizen. That can we not ; but he that proves the king, 
To him will we prove loyal : till that time 271 

Have we ramm'd up our gates against the world. 

King John. Doth not the crown of England prove the 
king? 
And if not that, I bring you witnesses, 
Twice fifteen thousand hearts of England's breed, — 275 

Bastard. Bastards, and else. 

King John. To verify our title with their lives. 

King Philip. As many and as well-born bloods as 
those — 

Bastard. Some bastards too. 

King Philip. Stand in his face to contradict his claim. 280 

Citizen. Till you compound whose right is worthiest, 
We for the worthiest hold the right from both. 

King John. Then God forgive the sin of all those souls 
That to their everlasting residence, 

Before the dew of evening fall, shall fleet 285 

In dreadful trial of our kingdom's king. 

King Philip. Amen, amen. Mount, chevaliers ! to arms ! 

Bastard. Saint George, that swing'd the dragon, and 
e'er since 
Sits on his horse back at mine hostess' door, 

288-289. Pictures of Saint George armed and mounted were 
used for innkeepers' signs. — swing'd : whipped. The Folios have 
' swindg'd,' which represents a pronunciation still heard in dialect. 



scene I KING JOHN 31 

Teach us some fence ! [To Austria] Sirrah, were I at home, 
At your den, sirrah, with your lioness, 291 

I would set an ox-head to your lion's hide, 
And make a monster of you. 

Austria. Peace ! no more. 

Bastard. O, tremble : for you hear the lion roar. 

King John. Up higher to the plain, where we '11 set forth 
In best appointment all our regiments. 296 

Bastard. Speed then, to take advantage of the field. 

King Philip. It shall be so ; and at the other hill 
Command the rest to stand. God and our right ! Exeunt 

Here after excursions, enter the Herald of France, with 
trumpets, to the gates 

French Herald. You men of Angiers, open wide your 
gates, 300 

And let young Arthur, Duke of Bretagne, in, 
Who by the hand of France this day hath made 
Much work for tears in many an English mother, 
Whose sons lie scattered on the bleeding ground : 
Many a widow's husband grovelling lies, 305 

Coldly embracing the discoloured earth, 
And victory with little loss doth play 
Upon the dancing banners of the French, 
Who are at hand, triumphantly displayed, 
To enter conquerors, and to proclaim 310 

Arthur of Bretagne England's king and yours. 

Enter English Herald, with trumpet 

English Herald. Rejoice, you men of Angiers, ring 
your bells, 



32 THE NEW HUDSON SHAKESPEARE act n 

King John, your king and England's, doth approach, 

Commander of this hot malicious day, 

Their armours, that march'd hence so silver-bright, 315 

Hither return all gilt with Frenchmen's blood. 

There stuck no plume in any English crest 

That is removed by a staff of France : 

Our colours do return in those same hands 

That did display them when we first march'd forth ; 320 

And, like a jolly troop of huntsmen, come 

Our lusty English, all with purpled hands, 

Dyed in the dying slaughter of their foes : 

Open your gates, and give the victors way. 

Citizen. Heralds, from off our towers we might behold, 
From first to last the onset and retire 326 

Of both your armies, whose equality 
By our best eyes cannot be censured : 
Blood hath bought blood, and blows have answer'd blows : 
Strength match 'd with strength, and power confronted power : 
Both are alike, and both alike we like : 33 1 

One must prove greatest. While they weigh so even, 
We hold our town for neither ; yet for both. 

Re-enter the two Kings, with their powers ; at several doors 

King John. France, hast thou yet more blood to cast 
away ? 

325. Citizen Rowe | Hubert Ff (and elsewhere in this scene). 

316. gilt. Cf. Macbeth, II, ii, 56 : " I '11 gild the faces of the grooms 
withal" (i.e. with blood); also II, iii, 117-118: "Here lay Duncan, 
His silver skin lac'd with his golden blood." 

321-323. After a deer hunt the huntsmen used to stain their hands 
with the blood of the deer as a trophy. 



scene I KING JOHN 33 

Say, shall the current of our right run on ? 335 

Whose passage, vex'd with thy impediment, 

Shall leave his native channel and o'erswell 

With course disturb'd even thy confining shores, 

Unless thou let his silver water keep 

A peaceful progress to the ocean. 340 

King Philip. England, thou hast not sav'd one drop of 
blood, 
In this hot trial, more than we of France ; 
Rather, lost more. And by this hand I swear, 
That sways the earth this climate overlooks, 
Before we will lay down our just-borne arms, 345 

We '11 put thee down, 'gainst whom these arms we bear, 
Or add a royal number to the dead, 
Gracing the scroll that tells of this war's loss 
With slaughter coupled to the name of kings. 

Bastard. Ha, majesty ! how high thy glory towers, 350 
When the rich blood of kings is set on fire ! 
O, now doth Death line his dead chaps with steel ; 
The swords of soldiers are his teeth, his fangs ; 
And now he feasts, mousing the flesh of men, 
In undetermin'd differences of kings. 355 

Why stand these royal fronts amazed thus ? 
Cry, havoc ! kings : back to the stained field, 

350. glory : glorying, vaunting. One meaning of the Latin gloria. 
A frequent usage. — towers : soars. A hawking term. 

354. mousing : tearing, as a cat tears a mouse. So in Dekker's 
Wonderful Year, 1603 : "Whilst Troy was swilling sack and sugar, 
and mousing fat venison, the mad Greeks made bonfires of their 
houses." Some interpret, ' nibbling as a mouse does.' 

357- Cr Y» havoc ! A signal for indiscriminate massacre, or for 
giving no quarter. Cf. Julius Ccesar, III, i, 273. 



34 THE NEW HUDSON SHAKESPEARE act ii 

You equal potents, fiery kindled spirits ! 
Then let confusion of one part confirm 
The other's peace ; till then, blows, blood, and death ; 360 

King John. Whose party do the townsmen yet admit ? 

King Philip. Speak, citizens, for England : who 's your 
king? 

Citizen. The king of England, when we know the king. 

King Philip. Know him in us, that here hold up his right. 

King John. In us, that are our own great deputy, 365 
And bear possession of our person here, 
Lord of our presence, Angiers, and of you. 

Citizen. A greater power than we denies all this ; 
And till it be undoubted, we do lock 

Our former scrapie in our strong-barr'd gates : 370 

Kings of our fear, until our fears resolv'd 
Be by some certain king purg'd and depos'd. 

Bastard. By heaven, these scroyles of Angiers flout you, 
kings, 
And stand securely on their battlements 
As in a theatre, whence they gape and point 375 

At your industrious scenes and acts of death. 
Your royal presences be rul'd by me : 

358. equal potents : equally matched powers. 

371. Kings of our fear : controlling our fear. Tyrwhitt's conjecture 
that the reading should be ' King'd of our fears,' i.e. ruled by them, 
is adopted by many modern editors. — resolv'd. Sometimes the word, 
in Shakespeare, means to ' inform,' ' assure,' or ' satisfy ' ; sometimes 
to 'melt' or 'dissolve.' The latter seems to accord best with the 
sense of ' purg'd ' and ' depos'd.' 

373. scroyles : scurvy rogues. From the Old Fr. escroelles (M. Latin 
scrofellcz, 'the scurvy'). 

376. At the scenes and acts of death which you industriously 
perform. 



scene I KING JOHN 35 

Do like the mutines of Jerusalem, 

Be friends awhile and both conjointly bend 

Your sharpest deeds of malice on this town : 380 

By east and west let France and England mount 

Their battering cannon charged to the mouths, 

Till their soul-fearing clamours have brawl'd down 

The flinty ribs of this contemptuous city : 

I 'd play incessantly upon these jades, 385 

Even till unfenced desolation 

Leave them as naked as the vulgar air. 

That done, dissever your united strengths, 

And part your mingled colours once again ; 

Turn face to face and bloody point to point ; 390 

Then, in a moment, Fortune shall cull forth 

Out of one side her happy minion, 

To whom in favour she shall give the day, 

And kiss him with a glorious victory. 

How like you this wild counsel, mighty states ? 395 

Smacks it not something of the policy ? 

King John. Now by the sky that hangs above our heads, 
I like it well. France, shall we knit our powers 

378. mutines : mutineers. Cf. Hamlet, V, ii, 5-6 : " Methought I 
lay Worse than the mutines in the bilboes." The allusion is probably 
to the combination of the civil factions in Jerusalem when the city 
was threatened by Titus. 

383. soul-fearing : soul-appalling. Shakespeare often uses the verb 
' fear ' in the sense of ' making afraid,' or ' scaring.' 

392. minion : darling, favorite. See Murray. 

395. states : persons in high position. Cf. Troilus and Cressida, 
IV, v, 65 : " Hail, all you state of Greece " ; Cymbeline, III, iv, 39 : 
" Kings, queens and states." 

396. Smacks . . . policy : is there not some smack of policy, or of 
politic shrewdness, in this counsel ? 



36 THE NEW HUDSON SHAKESPEARE act ii 

And lay this Angiers even with the ground ; 

Then after fight who shall be king of it ? 400 

Bastard. And if thou hast the mettle of a king, 
Being wrong'd as we are by this peevish town, 
Turn thou the mouth of thy artillery, 
As we will ours, against these saucy walls ; 
And when that we have dash'd them to the ground, 405 

Why then defy each other, and pell-mell 
Make work upon ourselves, for heaven or hell. 

King Philip. Let it be so : say, where will you assault ? 

King John. We from the west will send destruction 
Into this city's bosom. 410 

Austria. I from the north. 

King Philip. Our thunder from the south 

Shall rain their drift of bullets on this town. 

Bastard. O prudent discipline ! From north to south : 
Austria and France shoot in each other's mouth. 
I '11 stir them to it : come, away, away ! 415 

Citizen. Hear us, great kings : vouchsafe awhile to stay, 
And I shall show you peace and fair-fac'd league : 
Win you this city without stroke or wound ; 
Rescue those breathing lives to die in beds, 
That here come sacrifices for the field. 420 

Persever not, but hear me, mighty kings. 

King John. Speak on with favour, we are bent to hear. 

Citizen. That daughter there of Spain, the Lady Blanch, 
Is niece to England : look upon the years 
Of Lewis the Dauphin and that lovely maid. 425 

If lusty love should go in quest of beauty, 
Where should he find it fairer than in Blanch ? 

401. And Ff I An Capell. 424. niece Singer | neere F1F2. 



scene i KING JOHN U 

If zealous 'love should go in search of virtue, 

Where should he find it purer than in Blanch ? 

If love ambitious sought a match of birth, 430 

Whose veins bound richer blood than Lady Blanch ? 

Such as she is, in beauty, virtue, birth, 

Is the young Dauphin every way complete : 

If not complete of, say he is not she : 

And she again wants nothing, to name want, 435 

If want it be not that she is not he : 

He is the half part of a blessed man, 

Left to be finished by such as she, 

And she a fair divided excellence, 

Whose fulness of perfection lies in him. 440 

O two such silver currents, when they join, 

Do glorify the banks that bound them in : 

And two such shores, to two such streams made one, 

Two such controlling bounds shall you be, kings, 

To these two princes, if you marry them : 445 

This union shall do more than battery can 

To our fast-closed gates : for at this match, 

With swifter spleen than powder can enforce, 

The mouth of passage shall we fling wide ope, 

And give you entrance : but without this match, 450 

The sea enraged is not half so deaf, 

Lions more confident, mountains and rocks 

More free from motion, no, not Death himself 

431. Lady Blanch. Blanch was daughter to Alphonso IX, King of 
Castle, and niece to King John by his sister Eleanor (Elinor). 

435-436. she ... he : and she, again, wants nothing, but that she 
is not he ; if there be anything wanting in her, and if it be right to 
speak of want in connection with her. 

452-453. Lions . . . motion. Lions are not more confident, nor 
mountains and rocks more free from motion. 



38 THE NEW HUDSON SHAKESPEARE act n 

In mortal fury half so peremptory, 
As we to keep this city. 

Bastard. Here 's a stay, 455 

That shakes the rotten carcass of old Death 
Out of his rags ! Here 's a large mouth indeed, 
That spits forth death and mountains, rocks and seas, 
Talks as familiarly of roaring lions 

As maids of thirteen do of puppy-dogs ! 460 

What cannoneer begot this lusty blood ? 
He speaks plain cannon fire, and smoke and bounce ; 
He gives the bastinado with his tongue : 
Our ears are cudgell'd ; not a word of his 
But buffets better than a fist of France : 465 

Zounds, I was never so bethump'd with words 
Since I first call'd my brother's father dad. 

Elinor. Son, list to this conjunction, make this match ; 
Give with our niece a dowry large enough : 
For by this knot thou shalt so surely tie 470 

Thy now unsur'd assurance to the crown, 
That yon green boy shall have no sun to ripe 
The bloom that promiseth a mighty fruit. 

1 see a yielding in the looks of France ; 

455. stay: obstacle, hindrance. The word suggests something 
thrown in the way, producing a sudden shock. In earlier editions 
of Hudson's Shakespeare Johnson's suggested emendation 'flaw' 
was adopted. Other suggestions are ' storm,' ' bray,' ' style,' ' sway,' 
' slave.' 

462. bounce : bang. The old word for the report of a gun. Cf. 

2 Henry IV, III, ii, 301-306 : "there was a. little quiver fellow, and 
a would manage you his piece thus . . . ' rah, tah, tab.,' would a say ; 
' bounce ' would a say ; and away again would a go." 

463. gives the bastinado : beats with a cudgel, bastes, gives a 
basting. 



scene i KING JOHN 39 

Mark how they whisper, urge them while their souls 475 

Are capable of this ambition, 

Lest zeal, now melted by the windy breath 

Of soft petitions, pity and remorse, 

Cool and congeal again to what it was. 

Citizen. Why answer not the double majesties 480 

This friendly treaty of our threat'ned town ? 

King Philip. Speak England first, that hath been for- 
ward first 
To speak unto this city : what say you ? 

King John. If that the Dauphin there, thy princely son, 
Can in this book of beauty read ' I love,' 485 

Her dowry shall weigh equal with a queen : 
For Anjou, and fair Touraine, Maine, Poictiers, 
And all that we upon this side the sea, 
Except this city now by us besieg'd, 

Find liable to our crown and dignity, 490 

Shall gild her bridal bed, and make her rich 
In titles, honours, and promotions, 
As she in beauty, education, blood, 
Holds hand with any princess of the world. 

King Philip. What say'st thou, boy ? look in the lady's face. 

Lewis. I do, my lord, and in her eye I find 496 

A wonder, or a wondrous miracle, 
The shadow of myself form'd in her eye, 
W T hich, being but the shadow of your son, 
Becomes a sun and makes your son a shadow : 500 

I do protest I never lov'd myself 
Till now infixed I beheld myself, 
Drawn in the flattering table of her eye. Whispers with Blanch 

503. table : panel on which a picture is painted. 



40 THE NEW HUDSON SHAKESPEARE act ii 

Bastard. Drawn in the flattering table of her eye ! 

Hang'd in the frowning wrinkle of her brow ! 505 

And quarter'd in her heart ! he doth espy 

Himself love's traitor : this is pity now, 
That, hang'd and drawn and quarter'd, there should be 
In such a love so vile a lout as he. 

Blanch. My uncle's will in this respect is mine, 510 

If he see aught in you that makes him like, 
That any thing he sees which moves his liking, 
I can with ease translate it to my will ; 
Or if you will, to speak more properly, 
I will enforce it easily to my love. 515 

Further I will not flatter you, my lord, 
That all I see in you is worthy love, 
Than this, that nothing do I see in you, 
Though churlish thoughts themselves should be your judge, 
That I can find should merit any hate. 520 

King John. What say these young ones ? What say 
you, my niece ? 

Blanch. That she is bound in honour still to do 
What you in wisdom still vouchsafe to say. 

King John. Speak then, prince Dauphin : can you love 
this lady ? 

Lewis. Nay, ask me if I can refrain from love, 525 

For I do love her most unfeignedly. 

King John. Then do I give Volquessen, Touraine, Maine, 
Poictiers, and Anjou, these five provinces, 
With her to thee, and this addition more, 
Full thirty thousand marks of English coin : 530 

Philip of France, if thou be pleas'd withal, 
Command thy son and daughter to join hands. 



scene i KING JOHN 41 

King Philip. It likes us well; young princes, close 
your hands. 

Austria. And your lips too ; for I am well assur'd 
That I did so when I was first assur'd. 535 

King Philip. Now, citizens of Angiers, ope your gates, 
Let in that amity which you have made, 
For at Saint Mary's chapel presently 
The rites of marriage shall be solemniz'd. 
Is not the Lady Constance in this troop ? 540 

I know she is not, for this match made up 
Her presence would have interrupted much. 
Where is she and her son ? tell me, who knows. 

Lewis. She is sad and passionate at your highness' tent. 

King Philip. And, by my faith, this league that we have 
made 545 

Will give her sadness very little cure : 
Brother of England, how may we content 
This widow lady ? In her right we came ; 
Which we, God knows, have turn'd another way, 
To our own vantage. 

King John. We will heal up all, 550 

For we '11 create young Arthur Duke of Bretagne 
And Earl of Richmond ; and this rich fair town 
We make him lord of. Call the Lady Constance ; 
Some speedy messenger bid her repair 
To our solemnity : I trust we shall, 555 

539. rites F4 I rights F1F2F3. 

533- likes : suits, pleases. The old impersonal construction. 
535. assur'd : betrothed, affianced. Cf. The Comedy of Errors, 
III, ii, 146. 

544. passionate : perturbed. The word denotes violence of feeling. 



42 THE NEW HUDSON SHAKESPEARE act ii 

If not fill up the measure of her will, 
Yet in some measure satisfy her so 
That we shall stop her exclamation : 
Go we, as well as haste will suffer us, 

To this unlook'd for, unprepared pomp. 560 

Exeunt [all but the Bastard] 
Bastard. Mad world ! mad kings ! mad composition I 
John, to stop Arthur's title in the whole, 
Hath willingly departed with a part ; 
And France, whose armour conscience buckled on, 
Whom zeal and charity brought to the field 565 

As God's own soldier, rounded in the ear 
With that same purpose-changer, that sly devil, 
That broker that still breaks the pate of faith, 
That daily break-vow, he that wins of all, 
Of kings, of beggars, old men, young men, maids, 570 

Who, having no external thing to lose, 
But the word f maid,' cheats the poor maid of that, 
That smooth-fac'd gentleman, tickling Commodity, 
Commodity, the bias of the world, 

The world, who of itself is peised well, 575 

Made to run even upon even ground, 

561. Scene VI Pope. 

563. departed : parted. In the Marriage Service " till death us do 
part" is a popular corruption of " till death us depart." 

566. rounded : whispered. The proper form is ' rouned.' Cf. The 
Examination of William Thorpe, 1407 : "And the archbishop called 
then to him a clerke, and rowned with him : and that clerke went 
forth, and soone brought in the constable of Saltwood castle, and 
the archbishop rowned a good while with him." 

573. tickling Commodity : flattering Expediency (or Self-interest). 

575. peised : balanced, poised. To ' peise ' is, properly, to ' weigh.' 



scene i KING JOHN 43 

Till this advantage, this vile-drawing bias, 

This sway of motion, this Commodity, 

Makes it take head from all indifferency, 

From all direction, purpose, course, intent, 580 

And this same bias, this Commodity, 

This bawd, this broker, this all-changing word, 

Clapp'd on the outward eye of fickle France, 

Hath drawn him from his own determin'd aid, 

From a resolv'd and honourable war, 585 

To a most base and vile-concluded peace. 

And why rail I on this Commodity ? 

But for because he hath not woo'd me yet : 

Not that I have the power to clutch my hand, 

When his fair angels would salute my palm ; 590 

But for my hand, as unattempted yet, 

Like a poor beggar, raileth on the rich. 

Well, whiles I am a beggar, I will rail 

And say there is no sin but to be rich ; 

And being rich, my virtue then shall be 595 

To say there is no vice but beggary. 

Since kings break faith upon commodity, 

Gain, be my lord, for I will worship thee. Exit 

579. indifferency : impartiality. The world, swayed by interest, is 
compared to a biased bowl, which is deflected from an impartial 
course by the load in one side. 

583. eye. " The aperture on one side which contains the bias or 
weight that inclines the bowl, in running, from the direct course, 
was sometimes 'called the eye." — Staunton. 

587-592. I rail at bribery, not because I have the virtue to keep 
my hand closed when a bribe tempts me to open it, but because I 
am as yet untempted. 

590. angels. The ' angel ' was a gold coin worth about ten shillings, 
so called from its bearing an effigy of the Archangel Michael. 



ACT III 

Scene I. [The French King's pavilion] 
Enter Constance, Arthur, and Salisbury 

Constance. Gone to be married ! gone to swear a peace I 
False blood to false blood join'd ! Gone to be friends ! 
Shall Lewis have Blanch, and Blanch those provinces ? 
It is not so ; thou hast misspoke, misheard : 
Be well advis'd, tell o'er thy tale again. 5 

It cannot be ; thou dost but say 't is so, 
I trust I may not trust thee, for thy word 
Is but the vain breath of a common man. 
Believe me, I do not believe thee, man ; 
I have a king's oath to the contrary. 10 

Thou shalt be punish'd for thus frighting me, 
For I am sick and capable of fears, 
Oppress'd with wrongs, and therefore full of fears, 
A widow, husbandless, subject to fears, 
A woman naturally born to fears 5 1 5 

And though thou now confess thou didst but jest, 
With my vex'd spirits I cannot take a truce, 
But they will quake and tremble all this day. 
What dost thou mean by shaking of thy head ? 

Act III. Actus Secundus in the Folios, ending at line 74. 

17. take a truce: make peace. Cf. Romeo and Juliet, III, i, 162 : 
" Could not take truce with the unruly spleen Of Tybalt deaf to 
peace." 

44 



scene i KING JOHN 45 

Why dost thou look so sadly on my son ? 20 

What means that hand upon that breast of thine ? 

Why holds thine eye that lamentable rheum, 

Like a proud river peering o'er his bounds ? 

Be these sad signs confirmers of thy words ? 

Then speak again ; not all thy former tale, 25 

But this one word, whether thy tale be true. 

Salisbury. As true as I believe you think them false 
That give you cause to prove my saying true. 

Constance. O if thou teach me to believe this sorrow, 
Teach thou this sorrow how to make me die, 30 

And let belief and life encounter so 
As doth the fury of two desperate men 
Which in the very meeting fall and die. 
Lewis marry Blanch ! O boy, then where art thou ? 
France friend with England, what becomes of me ? 35 

Fellow, be gone ! I cannot brook thy sight. 
This news hath made thee a most ugly man. 

Salisbury. What other harm have I, good lady, done, 
But spoke the harm that is by others done ? 

Constance. Which harm within itself so heinous is 40 
As it makes harmful all that speak of it. 

Arthur. I do beseech you, madam, be content. 

Constance. If thou that bid'st me be content wert grim, 
Ugly, and sland'rous to thy mother's womb, 
Full of unpleasing blots, and sightless stains, 45 

Lame, foolish, crooked, swart, prodigious, 

22, that lamentable rheum : those tears of sorrow. ' Rheum ' is 
often used of tears. Cf. IV, i, 33 ; IV, iii, 108. 

45. sightless : unsightly, what one cannot bear to see. 

46. prodigious: monstrous. Cf. Richard III, I, ii, 22. 



46 THE NEW HUDSON SHAKESPEARE act hi 

Patch'd with foul moles, and eye-offending marks, 

I would not care, I then would be content, 

For then I should not love thee, no, nor thou 

Become thy great birth nor deserve a crown. 50 

But thou art fair, and at thy birth, dear boy, 

Nature and Fortune join'd to make thee great : 

Of Nature's gifts thou mayst with lilies boast 

And with the half-blown rose. But Fortune, O, 

She is corrupted, chang'd and won from thee ; 55 

She adulterates hourly with thine uncle John, 

And with her golden hancl hath pluck'd on France 

To tread down fair respect of sovereignty, . 

And made his majesty the bawd to theirs. 

France is a bawd to Fortune and King John, 60 

That strumpet Fortune, that usurping John ! 

Tell me, thou fellow, is not France forsworn ? 

Envenom him with words, or get thee gone, 

And leave those woes alone which I alone 

Am bound to under-bear. 

Salisbury. Pardon me, madam, 65 

I may not go without you to the kings. 

Constance. Thou mayst, thou shalt ; I will not go with 
thee : 
I will instruct my sorrows to be proud ; 
For grief is proud and makes his owner stoop. 
To me and to the state of my great grief 70 

69. stoop. In earlier editions of Hudson's Shakespeare Hanmer's 
reading ' stout ' was adopted. " Distress, while there remains any pros- 
pect of relief, is weak and flexible ; but, when no succour remains, is 
fearless and stubborn : angry alike at those that injure, and at those 
that do not help ; careless to please . . . fearless to offend when there 
is nothing further to be dreaded." — Johnson. 



scene i KING JOHN 47 

Let kings assemble ; for my grief 's so great 
That no supporter but the huge firm earth 
Can hold it up : here I and sorrows sit ; 
Here is my throne, bid kings come bow to it. 

[Seats herself on the ground\ 

Enter King John, King Philip, Lewis, Blanch, Elinor, 
the Bastard, Austria [and Attendants] 

King Philip. 'T is true, fair daughter ; and this blessed 
day 75 

Ever in France shall be kept festival : 
To solemnize this day the glorious sun 
Stays in his course and plays the alchemist, 
Turning with splendour of his precious eye 
The meagre cloddy earth to glittering gold : 80 

The yearly course that brings this day about 
Shall never see it but a holiday. 

Constance. A wicked day, and not a holy day ! [Rising] 
What hath this day deserv'd ? what hath it done, 
That it in golden letters should be set 85 

Among the high tides in the calendar ? 
Nay, rather turn this day out of the week, 
This day of shame, oppression, perjury. 
Or, if it must stand still, let wives with child 
Pray that their burdens may not fall this day, 90 

Lest that their hopes prodigiously be cross'd : 
But on this day let seamen fear no wreck ; 

86. high tides in the calendar : times set down in the almanac to be 
specially observed ; days marked for public honour and celebration. 

91. prodigiously be cross'd : be frustrated by monstrous births. 

92. But: except. — wreck. The Folios have ' wrack.' 



48 THE NEW HUDSON SHAKESPEARE act hi 

No bargains break that are not this day made : 

This day, all things begun come to ill end, 

Yea, faith itself to hollow falsehood change ! 95 

King Philip. By heaven, lady, you shall have no cause 
To curse the fair proceedings of this day : 
Have I not pawn'd to you my majesty ? 

Constance. You have beguiFd me with a counterfeit 
Resembling majesty, which, being touch'd and tried, 100 

Proves valueless : you are forsworn, forsworn ; 
You came in arms to spill mine enemies' blood, 
But now in arms you strengthen it with yours : 
The grappling vigour and rough frown of war 
Is cold in amity and painted peace, 105 

And our oppression hath made up this league. 
Arm, arm, you heavens, against these perjur'd kings ! 
A widow cries ; be husband to me, heavens ! 
Let not the hours of this ungodly day 

Wear out the day in peace ; but, ere sunset, 110 

Set armed discord 'twixt these perjur'd kings ! 
Hear me, O, hear me ! 

Austria. Lady Constance, peace ! 

Constance. War ! war ! no peace ! peace is to me a war. 
O Lymoges ! O Austria ! thou dost shame 
That bloody spoil : thou slave, thou wretch, thou coward ! 1 1 5 
Thou little valiant, great in villainy ! 
Thou ever strong upon the stronger side ! 
Thou Fortune's champion that dost never fight 
But when her humorous ladyship is by 

To teach thee safety ! thou art perjured too, 120 

And soothest up greatness. What a fool art thou, 

no. day Theobald | daies Ff. 



scene i KING JOHN 49 

A ramping fool, to brag and stamp and swear 

Upon my party ! Thou cold-blooded slave, 

Hast thou not spoke like thunder on my side, 

Been sworn my soldier, bidding me depend 125 

Upon thy stars, thy fortune and thy strength, 

And dost thou now fall over to my foes ? 

Thou wear a lion's hide ! doff it for shame, 

And hang a calf 's-skin on those recreant limbs. 

Austria. O, that a man should speak those words to 
me ! 130 

Bastard. And hang a calf's-skin on those recreant limbs. 

Austria. Thou dar'st not say so, villain, for thy life. 

Bastard. And hang a calf's-skin on those recreant limbs. 

King John. We like not this ; thou dost forget thyself. 

Enter Pandulph 

King Philip. Here comes the holy legate of the pope. 135 
Pandulph. Hail, you anointed deputies of heaven ! 

To thee, King John, my holy errand is. 

I Pandulph, of fair Milan cardinal, 

And from Pope Innocent the legate here, 

Do in his name religiously demand 140 

Why thou against the church, our holy mother, 

So wilfully dost spurn ; and force perforce 

Keep Stephen Langton, chosen archbishop 

123. Upon my party : on my side. 

127. fall over : revolt. Cf. 1 Henry IV, I, iii, 93-94. 

129. recreant : cowardly. Constance means that Austria is a coward, 
and that a calf's skin would fit him better than a lion's. 

142. ' Force ' and ' perforce ' were often thus used together, merely 
to intensify the expression. Cotgrave explains it, " of necessitie, will 
he nill he, in spite of his teeth." 



50 THE NEW HUDSON SHAKESPEARE act in 

Of Canterbury, from that holy see ? 

This, in our foresaid holy father's name, 145 

Pope Innocent, I do demand of thee. 

King John. What earthy name to interrogatories 
Can task the free breath of a sacred king ? 
Thou canst not, cardinal, devise a name 
So slight, unworthy and ridiculous, 150 

To charge me to an answer, as the pope. 
Tell him this tale ; and from the mouth of England 
Add thus much more, that no Italian priest 
Shall tithe or toll in our dominions ; 

But as we, under heaven, are supreme head, 155 

So under Him that great supremacy, 
Where we do reign, we will alone uphold, 
Without the assistance of a mortal hand : 
So tell the pope, all reverence set apart 
To him and his usurp 'd authority. 160 

King Philip. Brother of England, you blaspheme in this. 

King John. Though you and all the kings of Christendom 
Are led so grossly by this meddling priest, 
Dreading the curse that money may buy out ; 
And by the merit of vile gold, dross, dust, 165 

Purchase corrupted pardon of a man, 
Who in that sale sells pardon from himself, 
Though you and all the rest so grossly led 
This juggling witchcraft with revenue cherish, 

148. task Theobald | tast F1F2 | taste F3F4. 

147-148. What . . . king. What earthly power can hold a king respon- 
sible ? — interrogatories : questions a witness must answer under oath. 

159-160. all . . . authority. All reverence to him and his usurp'd 
authority being cast off. 



scene i KING JOHN 51 

Yet I alone, alone do me oppose 170 

Against the pope and count his friends my foes. 

Pandulph. Then, by the lawful power that I have, 
Thou shalt stand curs'd and excommunicate : 
And blessed shall he be that doth revolt 
From his allegiance to an heretic; 175 

And meritorious shall that hand be calPd, 
Canonized and worshipp'd as a saint, 
That takes away by any secret course 
Thy hateful life. 

Constance. O, lawful let it be 
That I have room with Rome to curse awhile ! 180 

Good father cardinal, cry thou amen 
To my keen curses ; for without my wrong 
There is no tongue hath power to curse him right. 

Pandulph. There 's law and warrant, lady, for my curse. 

Constance. And for mine too : when law can do no 
right, 185 

Let it be lawful that law bar no wrong : 
Law cannot give my child his kingdom here, 
For he that holds his kingdom holds the law ; 
Therefore, since law itself is perfect wrong, 
How can the law forbid my tongue to curse ? 190 

Pandulph. Philip of France, on peril of a curse, 
Let go the hand of that arch-heretic ; 
And raise the power of France upon his head, 
Unless he do submit himself to Rome. 

Elinor. Look'st thou pale, France? do not let go thy 
hand. 195 

Constance. Look to that, devil ; lest that France repent, 
And by disjoining hands, hell lose a soul. 



52 THE NEW HUDSON SHAKESPEARE act hi 

Austria. King Philip, listen to the cardinal. 

Bastard. And hang a calf 's-skin on his recreant limbs. 

Austria. Well, ruffian, I must pocket up these wrongs, 200 
Because — 

Bastard. Your breeches best may carry them. 

King John. Philip, what say'st thou to the cardinal ? 

Constance. What should he say, but as the cardinal ? 

Lewis. Bethink you, father ; for the difference 
Is purchase of a heavy curse from Rome, 205 

Or the light loss of England for a friend : 
Forego the easier. 

Blanch. That 's the curse of Rome. 

Constance. O Lewis, stand fast ! the devil tempts thee 
here 
In likeness of a new untrimmed bride. 209 

Blanch. The Lady Constance speaks not from her faith, 
But from her need. 

Constance. O, if thou grant my need, 

Which only lives but by the death of faith, 
That need must needs infer this principle, 
That faith would live again by death of need. 
O then, tread down my need, and faith mounts up ; 215 

Keep my need up, and faith is trodden down ! 

King John. The king is mov'd, and answers not to this. 

Constance. O, be remov'd from him, and answer well ! 

Austria. Do so, King Philip ; hang no more in doubt. 

Bastard. Hang nothing but a calf 's-skin, most sweet lout. 

King Philip. I am perplex'd, and know not what to say. 

Pandulph. What canst thou say but will perplex thee 
more, 222 

If thou stand excommunicate and curs'd ? 



scene I KING JOHN 53 

King Philip. Good reverend father, make my person 
yours, 
And tell me how you would bestow yourself. 225 

This royal hand and mine are newly knit, 
And the conjunction of our inward souls 
Married in league, coupled and link'd together 
With all religious strength of sacred vows ; 
The latest breath that gave the sound of words 230 

Was deep-sworn faith, peace, amity, true love 
Between our kingdoms and our royal selves, 
And even before this truce, but new before, 
No longer than we well could wash our hands 
To clap this royal bargain up of peace, 235 

Heaven knows, they were besmear'd and overstain'd 
With slaughter's pencil, where revenge did paint 
The fearful difference of incensed kings : 
And shall these hands, so lately purg'd of blood, 
So newly join'd in love, so strong in both, 240 

Unyoke this seizure and this kind regreet ? 
Play fast and loose with faith ? so jest with heaven, 
Make such unconstant children of ourselves, 
As now again to snatch our palm from palm, 
Unswear faith sworn, and on the marriage-bed 245 

Of smiling peace to march a bloody host, 
And make a riot on the gentle brow 
Of true sincerity ? O, holy sir, 
My reverend father, let it not be so ! 
Out of your grace, devise, ordain, impose 250 

235. clap ... up : make a hasty agreement by clasping hands. 

240. strong in both : strong in deeds of blood and deeds of love. 

241. regreet: interchange of salutation. Cf. Richard II, I, iii, 142. 



54 THE NEW HUDSON SHAKESPEARE act hi 

Some gentle order ; and then we shall be blest. 
To do your pleasure and continue friends. 

Pandulph. All form is formless, order orderless, 
Save what is opposite to England's love. 
Therefore to arms ! be champion of our church, 255 

Or let the church, our mother, breathe her curse, 
A mother's curse, on her revolting son. 
France, thou mayst hold a serpent by the tongue, 
A chafed lion by the mortal paw, 

A fasting tiger safer by the tooth, 260 

Than keep in peace that hand which thou dost hold. 

King Philip. I may disjoin my hand, but not my faith. 

Pandulph. So mak'st thou faith an enemy to faith ; 
And like a civil war set'st oath to oath, 

Thy tongue against thy tongue. O, let thy vow 265 

First made to heaven, first be to heaven perform'd, 
That is, to be the champion of our church ! 
What since thou swor'st is sworn against thyself 
And may not be performed by thyself, 

For that which thou hast sworn to do amiss 270 

Is most amiss when it is truly done, 
And being not done, where doing tends to ill, 
The truth is then most done not doing it : 
The better act of purposes mistook 



*& 



259. chafed Theobald Globe De- 271. most Hanmer | not Ff Globe 

lius I cased Ff. Delius. 

258. The venom of serpents was supposed to be in the tongue. 

259. mortal: deadly, that which kills. Commoniy so in Shakespeare. 
270-273. For ... it : on the one hand, the wrong which you have 

sworn to do is most wrong when your oath is truly performed ; on the 
other hand, when a proposed act tends to ill, the truth is most done 
by leaving the act undone. A specimen of argument in convene. 



scene i KING JOHN 55 

Is to mistake again ; though indirect, 275 

Yet indirection thereby grows direct, 

And falsehood falsehood cures, as fire cools fire 

Within the scorched veins of one new-burn'd. 

It is religion that doth make vows kept ; 

But thou hast sworn against religion, 280 

By what thou swear'st against the thing thou swear'st, 

And mak'st an oath the surety for thy truth 

Against an oath : the truth thou art unsure 

To swear, swears only not to be forsworn ; 

Else what a mockery should it be to swear ! 285 

But thou dost swear only to be forsworn ; 

And most forsworn, to keep what thou dost swear. 

Therefore thy later vows against thy first 

Is in thyself rebellion to thyself ; 

And better conquest never canst thou make 290 

Than arm thy constant and thy nobler parts 

Against these giddy loose suggestions : 

Upon which better part our prayers come in, 

If thou vouchsafe them. But if not, then know 

277-278. fire . . . new-burn'd. Shakespeare has several references 
to the mode of curing a burn by holding the burnt place up to the 
fire. Cf. Romeo and Juliet, I, ii, 46: "Tut, man, one fire burns out 
another's burning "; Julius Ccesar, III, i, 171: "As fire drives out 
fire, so pity pity." 

281-283. By . . . oath : by which act thou swearest against the king 
thou swearest by ; and, by setting an oath against an oath, thou makest 
that which is the surety for thy truth the proof that thou art untrue. 
Probably the language here is intentionally obscure. Many attempts 
have been made to emend the passage. 

287. to . . . swear : in keeping that which thou dost swear. An 
instance of the infinitive used gerundively. 

288-289. vows ... is. See Abbott, § 412 : " confusion of proximity." 



56 THE NEW HUDSON SHAKESPEARE act hi 

The peril of our curses light on thee 295 

So heavy as thou shalt not shake them off, 
But in despair die under their black weight. 

Austria. Rebellion, flat rebellion ! 

Bastard. Will 't not be ? 

Will not a calf 's-skin stop that mouth of thine ? 

Lewis. Father, to arms ! 

Blanch. Upon thy wedding-day ? 300 

Against the blood that thou hast married ? 
What, shall our feast be kept with slaughter'd men ? 
Shall braying trumpets and loud churlish drums, 
Clamours of hell, be measures to our pomp ? 
O husband, hear me ! ay, alack, how new 305 

Is husband in my mouth ! even for that name, 
Which till this time my tongue did ne'er pronounce, 
Upon my knee I beg, go not to arms 
Against mine uncle. 

Constance. O, upon my knee, 

Made hard with kneeling, I do pray to thee, 3 10 

Thou virtuous Dauphin, alter not the doom 
Forethought by heaven ! 

Blanch. Now shall I see thy love : what motive may 
Be stronger with thee than the name of wife ? 314 

Constance. That which upholdeth him that thee upholds, 
His honour : O, thine honour, Lewis, thine honour ! 

300. Lewis | Daul. (for ' Daulphin,' i.e. Dauphin) Ff. 

295. peril . . . light. Another instance of false concord (cf. lines 
288-289), the verb agreeing with the nearest substantive. See Abbott, 
§412, also §§333-336. 

301. Against the blood relations of your wife. 

304. measures . . . pomp : music to our wedding festivities. 



scene I KING JOHN 57 

Lewis. I muse your majesty doth seem so cold, 
When such profound respects do pull you on. 

Pandulph. I will denounce a curse upon his head. 

King Philip. Thou shalt not need. England, I will fall 
from thee. 320 

Constance. O fair return of banish'd majesty ! 

Elinor. O foul revolt of French inconstancy ! 

King John. France, thou shalt rue this hour within this 
hour. 

Bastard. Old Time the clock-setter, that bald sexton Time, 
Is it as he will ? well then, France shall rue. 325 

Blanch. The sun 's o'ercast with blood : fair day, adieu ! 
Which is the side that I must go withal ? 
I am with both : each army hath a hand ; 
And in their rage, I having hold of both, 
They whirl asunder and dismember me. 330 

Husband, I cannot pray that thou mayst win ; 
Uncle, I needs must pray that thou mayst lose ; 
Father, I may not wish the fortune thine ; 
Grandam, I will not wish thy wishes thrive : 
Whoever wins, on that side shall I lose ; 335 

Assured loss before the match be play'd. 

Lewis. Lady, with me, with me thy fortune lies. 

Blanch. There where my fortune lives, there my life dies. 

King John. Cousin, go draw our puissance together. 

[Exit Bastard] 
France, I am burn'd up with inflaming wrath ; 340 

A rage whose heat hath this condition, 

317. muse : wonder. Cf. The Two Gentlemen of Verona, I, iii, 64. 

318. respects: considerations. Cf. Hamlet, III, i, 68: "There's 
the respect That makes calamity of so long life." 



58 THE NEW HUDSON SHAKESPEARE act in 

That nothing can allay, nothing but blood, 
The blood, and dearest-valued blood, of France. 

King Philip. Thy rage shall burn thee up, and thou 
shalt turn 
To ashes, ere our blood shall quench that fire : 345 

Look to thyself, thou art in jeopardy. 

King John. No more than he that threats. To arms 
let 's hie ! Exeunt 

Scene II. [The same. Plains near Anglers'] 

Alarums, excursions. Enter the Bastard, with 
Austria's head 

Bastard. Now, by my life, this day grows wondrous 
hot; 
Some airy devil hovers in the sky 
And pours down mischief. Austria's head lie there, 
While Philip breathes. 

Enter King John, Arthur, aiid Hubert 

King John. Hubert, keep this boy. Philip, make up : 5 
My mother is assailed in our tent, 
And ta'en, I fear. 

Bastard. My lord, I rescued her ; 

Her highness is in safety, fear you not : 
But on, my liege ; for very little pains 
Will bring this labour to an happy end. Exeunt 10 

2. Tempests, it was held, were induced by spirits of the air. 

5. Philip. Either the king or Shakespeare has forgotten the Bas- 
tard's change of name. Cf. I, i, 1 61-162. — make up: advance. An 
old military term. 



scene in KING JOHN 59 

Scene III. \The same] 

Alarums, excursions, retreat Enter King John, Elinor, 
Arthur, the Bastard, Hubert, and Lords 

King John. [To Elinor] So shall it be: your grace 
shall stay behind 
So strongly guarded. \To Arihur] Cousin, look not sad: 
Thy grandam loves thee ; and thy uncle will 
As dear be to thee as thy father was. 

Arthur. O, this will make my mother die with grief ! 5 

King John. [To the Bastard] Cousin, away for Eng- 
land ! haste before : 
And, ere our coming, see thou shake the bags 
Of hoarding abbots ; imprisoned angels 
Set at liberty : the fat ribs of peace 

Must by the hungry now be fed upon : 10 

Use our commission in his utmost force. 

Bastard. Bell, book, and candle shall not drive me back, 
When gold and silver becks me to come on. 
I leave your highness. Grandam, I will pray, 
If ever I remember to be holy, 15 

For your fair safety ; so, I kiss your hand. 

8-9. imprisoned . . . liberty. So in the Folios. Some editors arrange 
thus for the sake of the verse : " set at liberty Imprisoned angels." — 
angels. A common pun. See note, II, i, 590. 

12. Bell . . . candle. An allusion to the old forms used in pro- 
nouncing the final curse of excommunication. On such occasions 
amid the tolling of bells the bishop and clergy went into the church, 
with a cross borne before them, and with several waxen tapers lighted. 
The tapers were extinguished to the reading of the words : " the 
soul of the excommunicate be given over utterly to the power of 
the fiend, as this candle is now quenched and put out." 



60 THE NEW HUDSON SHAKESPEARE act hi 

Elinor. Farewell, gentle cousin. 

King John. Coz, farewell. [Exit Bastard] 

Elinor. Come hither, little kinsman ; hark, a word. 

King John. Come hither, Hubert. O my gentle Hubert, 
We owe thee much ! within this wall of flesh 20 

There is a soul counts thee her creditor 
And with advantage means to pay thy love : 
And, my good friend, thy voluntary oath 
Lives in this bosom, dearly cherished. 

Give me thy hand. I had a thing to say, 25 

But I will fit it with some better time. 
By heaven, Hubert, I am almost asham'd 
To say what good respect I have of thee. 

Hubert. I am much bounden to your majesty. 

King John. Good friend, thou hast no cause to say so yet, 
But thou shalt have ; and creep time ne'er so slow, 31 

Yet it shall come for me to do thee good. 
I had a thing to say, but let it go : 
The sun is in the heaven, and the proud day, 
Attended with the pleasures of the world, 35 

Is all too wanton and too full of gawds 
To give me audience : if the midnight bell 
Did, with his iron tongue and brazen mouth, 
Sound on into the drowsy ear of night, — 
If this same were a churchyard where we stand, 40 

And thou possessed with a thousand wrongs, 

26. time Pope | tune Ff. — ear Dyce Staunton Camb | race Ff 

39. on Ff I one Theobald. Globe Delius. 

28. respect: opinion, esteem. Cf. Ill, i, 58. 

39. In earlier editions of Hudson's Shakespeare Theobald's 
emendation (see textual note) was adopted. 



scene in KING JOHN 6 1 

Or if that surly spirit, melancholy, 

Had bak'd thy blood and made it heavy-thick, 

Which else runs tickling up and down the veins, 

Making that idiot, laughter, keep men's eyes 45 

And strain their cheeks to idle merriment, 

A passion hateful to my purposes, 

Or if that thou couldst see me without eyes, 

Hear me without thine ears, and make reply 

Without a tongue, using conceit alone, 50 

Without eyes, ears, and harmful sound of words ; 

Then, in despite of brooded watchful day, 

I would into thy bosom pour my thoughts : 

But, ah, I will not ! yet I love thee well ; 

And, by my troth, I think thou lov'st me well. 55 

Hubert. So well, that what you bid me undertake, 
Though that my death were adjunct to my act, 
By heaven, I would do it. 

King John. Do not I know thou wouldst ? 

Good Hubert, Hubert, Hubert, throw thine eye 
On yon young boy : I '11 tell thee what, my friend, 60 

He is a very serpent in my way ; 
And wheresoe'er this foot of mine doth tread, 
He lies before me : dost thou understand me ? 
Thou art his keeper. 

Hubert. And I '11 keep him so, 

That he shall not offend your majesty. 

50. conceit : imagination. Often so in Elizabethan English. 

52. brooded. Day (i.e. the sun) is thought of as looking down on 
the world with the watchfulness of a brooding parent bird. The 
word ' brooded ' is not part of a verb, but an adjective formed by 
adding the suffix -^/to the noun 'brood.' 



62 THE NEW HUDSON SHAKESPEARE act hi 

King John. Death. 65 

Hubert. My lord ? 

King John. A grave. 

Hubert. He shall not live. 

King John. Enough. 

I could be merry now. Hubert, I love thee ; 
Well, I '11 not say what I intend for thee : 
Remember. Madam, fare you well : 
I '11 send those powers o'er to your majesty. 70 

Elinor. My blessing go with thee ! 

King John. For England, cousin, go : 

Hubert shall be your man, attend on you 
With all true duty. On toward Calais, ho ! Exeunt 

Scene IV. \The same. The French King's tent] 
Enter King Philip, Lewis, Pandulph, and Attendants 

King Philip. So, by a roaring tempest on the flood, 
A whole armado of convicted sail 
Is scatter'd and disjoin'd from fellowship. 

Pandulph. Courage and comfort 1 all shall yet go well. 

King Philip. What can go well, when we have run so ill ? 
Are we not beaten ? Is not Angiers lost ? 6 

Arthur ta'en prisoner ? divers dear friends slain ? 
And bloody England into England gone, 
O'erbearing interruption, spite of France ? 

1-3. A topical allusion. The Spanish Armada was wrecked by 
tempest in British waters in 15S8. 

2. armado: armada, armed fleet. — convicted: discomfited. Delius 
read 'connected.' In earlier editions of Hudson's Shakespeare 
'convented' was adopted. 



scene iv KING JOHN 63 

Lewis. What he hath won, that hath he fortified : 10 

So hot a speed with such advice dispos'd, 
Such temperate order in so fierce a cause, 
Doth want example : who hath read or heard 
Of any kindred action like to this ? 

King Philip. Well could I bear that England had this 
praise, 1 5 

So we could find some pattern of our shame. 

Enter Constance 

Look, who comes here ! a grave unto a soul ; 

Holding the eternal spirit, against her will, 

In the vile prison of afflicted breath. 

I prithee, lady, go away with me. 20 

Constance. Lo, now ! now see the issue of your peace. 

King Philip. Patience, good lady ! comfort, gentle 
Constance ! 

Constance. No, I defy all counsel, all redress, 
But that which ends all counsel, true redress, 
Death, death; O amiable lovely death! 25 

Thou odoriferous stench ! sound rottenness ! 
Arise forth from the couch of lasting night, 
Thou hate and terror to prosperity, 
And I will kiss thy detestable bones 

And put my eyeballs in thy vaulty brows 30 

And ring these fingers with thy household worms 

11. with . . . dispos'd : governed by such consideration. In Eliza- 
bethan literature ' advice ' often means 'judgment.' 

18. her: the spirit's. 

19. In the loathsome dungeon of a wretched existence. Cf. 
Philippiansy iii, 21: "Who shall change our vile body." 

23. defy: refuse, reject. An old meaning common in Shakespeare. 



64 THE NEW HUDSON SHAKESPEARE act hi 

And stop this gap of breath with fulsome dust 

And be a carrion monster like thyself : 

Come, grin on me, and I will think thou smilest 

And buss thee as thy wife. Misery's love, 35 

O, come to me ! 

King Philip. O fair affliction, peace ! 

Constance. No, no, I will not, having breath to cry : 
O, that my tongue were in the thunder's mouth ! 
Then with a passion would I shake the world ; 
And rouse from sleep that fell anatomy 40 

Which cannot hear a lady's feeble voice, 
Which scorns a modern invocation. 

Pandulph. Lady, you utter madness, and not sorrow. 

Constance. Thou art not holy to belie me so ; 
I am not mad : this hair I tear is mine ; 45 

My name is Constance ; I was Geffrey's wife ; 
Young Arthur is my son, and he is lost : 
I am not mad : I would to heaven I were ! 
For then, 't is like I should forget myself : 
O, if I could, what grief should I forget ! 50 

Preach some philosophy to make me mad, 
And thou shalt be canonized, cardinal ; 
For being not mad but sensible of grief, 
My reasonable part produces reason 

How I may be deliver'd of these woes, 55 

And teaches me to kill or hang myself : 
If I were mad, I should forget my son, 

44. not holy F4 I holy F1F2F3. 

36. affliction : afflicted one. The abstract for the concrete. 

40. fell anatomy : dreadful skeleton (Death). 

42. modern: ordinary, trite. Cf. As You Like It, II, vii, 156. 



scene iv KING JOHN 65 

Or madly think a babe of clouts were he : 

I am not mad , too well, too well I feel 

The different plague of each calamity. 60 

King Philip. Bind up those tresses. O, what love I note 
In the fair multitude of those her hairs ! 
Where but by chance a silver drop hath fallen, 
Even to that drop ten thousand wiry friends 
Do glue themselves in sociable grief, 65 

Like true, inseparable, faithful loves, 
Sticking together in calamity. 

Constance. To England, if you will. 

King Philip. Bind up your hairs. 

Constance. Yes, that I will ; and wherefore will I do it ? 
I tore them from their bonds and cried aloud 70 

* O that these hands could so redeem my son, 
As they have given these hairs their liberty ! ' 
But now I envy at their liberty, 
And will again commit them to their bonds, 
Because my poor child is a prisoner. 75 

And, father cardinal, I have heard you say 
That we shall see and know our friends in heaven : 
If that be true, I shall see my boy again ; 
For since the birth of Cain, the first male child, 
To him that did but yesterday suspire, 80 

There was not such a gracious creature born. 

64. friends Rowe | fiends Ff. 

58. babe of clouts : doll, rag-baby. Cf. Macbeth, III, iv, 106. 

68. To . . . will. Probably Constance's reply to Philip's invitation, 
"I prithee, lady, go away with me," line 20. Staunton suggests that 
she " apostrophizes her hair as she madly tears it from its bonds." 

81. gracious : graceful, full of beauty and charm. Cf. line 96. 



66 THE NEW HUDSON SHAKESPEARE act hi 

But now will canker sorrow eat my bud 

And chase the native beauty from his cheek 

And he will look as hollow as a ghost, 

As dim and meagre as an ague's fit, 85 

And so he '11 die ; and, rising so again, 

When I shall meet him in the court of heaven 

I shall not know him : therefore never, never 

Must I behold my pretty Arthur more. 

Pandulph. You hold too heinous a respect of grief. 90 

Constance. He talks to me that never had a son. 

King Philip. You are as fond of grief as of your child. 

Constance. Grief fills the room up of my absent child, 
Lies in his bed, walks up and down with me, 
Puts on his pretty looks, repeats his words, 95 

Remembers me of all his gracious parts, 
Stuffs out his vacant garments with his form ; 
Then, have I reason to be fond of grief ? 
Fare you well : had you such a loss as I, 
I could give better comfort than you do. 100 

I will not keep this form upon my head, 
When there is such disorder in my wit. 
O Lord ! my boy, my Arthur, my fair son ! 
My life, my joy, my food, my all the world ! 
My widow-comfort, and my sorrows' cure ! Exit 105 

82. canker sorrow : sorrow, like a cankerworm. See note, II, i, 194. 
85. as an ague's fit : as one in an ague fit. 

90. Such a perverse and willful cherishing of grief is a heinous 
wrong. — respect : regard, opinion. 

100. I ... do. " This is a sentiment which great sorrow always 
dictates. Whoever cannot help himself casts his eyes on others for 
assistance, and often mistakes their inability for coldness." — Johnson. 

101. She disorders her hair again. Cf. lines 68-69. 



scene iv KING JOHN 67 

King Philip. I fear some outrage, and I '11 follow her. 

Exit 

Lewis. There 's nothing in this world can make me joy : 
Life is as tedious as a twice-told tale 
Vexing the dull ear of a drowsy man ; 

And bitter shame hath spoil'd the sweet world's taste, no 
That it yields nought but shame and bitterness. 

Pandulph. Before the curing of a strong disease, 
Even in the instant of repair and health, 
The fit is strongest ; evils that take leave, 
On their departure most of all show evil : 115 

What have you lost by losing of this day ? 

Lewis. All days of glory, joy and happiness. 

Pandulph. If you had won it, certainly you had. 
No, no ; when Fortune means to men most good, 
She looks upon them with a threat'ning eye. 120 

'T is strange to think how much King John hath lost 
In this which he accounts so clearly won : 
Are not you griev'd that Arthur is his prisoner ? 

Lewis. As heartily as he is glad he hath him. 

Pandulph. Your mind is all as youthful as your blood. 
Now hear me speak with a prophetic spirit ; 1 26 

For even the breath of what I mean to speak 
Shall blow each dust, each straw, each little rub, 
Out of the path which shall directly lead 
Thy foot to England's throne; and therefore mark. 130 

John hath seiz'd Arthur ; and it cannot be 

108. Life . . . tale. Cf. Psalms, xc, 9 : " For all our days are passed 
away in thy wrath : we spend our years as a tale that is told." 

128. rub : obstacle. Cf. Hamlet, III, i, 65 : " ay, there 's the rub." 
The metaphor is from the game of bowls. Cf. note, II, i, 579. 



68 THE NEW HUDSON SHAKESPEARE act in 

That, whiles warm life plays in that infant's veins, 

The misplac'd John should entertain an hour, 

One minute, nay, one quiet breath of rest. 

A sceptre snatch'd with an unruly hand 135 

Must be as boisterously maintain'd as gain'd ; 

And he that stands upon a slippery place 

Makes nice of no vile hold to stay him up : 

That John may stand, then Arthur needs must fall ; 

So be it, for it cannot be but so. 140 

Lewis. But what shall I gain by young Arthur's fall ? 

Pandulph. You, in the right of Lady Blanch your wife, 
May then make all the claim that Arthur did. 

Lewis. And lose it, life and all, as Arthur did. 

Pandulph. How green you are and fresh in this old world ! 
John lays you plots ; the times conspire with you ; 146 

For he that steeps his safety in true blood 
Shall find but bloody safety and untrue. 
This act so evilly borne shall cool the hearts 
Of all his people and freeze up their zeal, 1 50 

That none so small advantage shall step forth 
To check his reign, but they will cherish it ; 

149. borne F1F2 Delius | born F3F4 Globe Camb. 

138. Makes nice : is scrupulous, sticks at. Often so in Shake- 
speare. We still say, to ' make no scruple ' of doing so and so. 

146. you. The so-called ethical dative. See Abbott, § 220. 

147. true blood : blood of the true (i.e. just or rightful) claimant 
of the crown. Shakespeare has several instances of ' blood ' put for 
' person.' Cf. Julius Ccesar, IV, iii, 262 : " I know young bloods look 
for a time of rest." 

149. evilly borne : wickedly carried on, carried through wickedly. 
' Borne ' is often used by Shakespeare in this sense. Cf. Much Ado 
About Nothing, II, iii, 229; Macbeth, III, vi, 3. 



scene iv KING JOHN 69 

No natural exhalation in the sky, 

No scope of nature, no distemper'd day, 

No common wind, no customed event, 155 

But they will pluck away his natural cause 

And call them meteors, prodigies and signs, 

Abortives, presages and tongues of heaven, 

Plainly denouncing vengeance upon John. 

Lewis. May be he will not touch young Arthur's life, 
But hold himself safe in his prisonment. 161 

154. scope Ff I scape Pope | shape Hanmer. 

153. exhalation : meteor. This is the meaning of the word in the 
four passages in Shakespeare where it occurs. Meteors were sup- 
posed to be derived from matter drawn up by the sun, as is clearly 
stated in Person's Varieties (1635), " Of Meteors." Cf. the quotations 
in the note below, line 157. 

154. No scope of nature : nothing which lies within the limits of 
nature's power, no natural occurrence. In earlier editions of Hud- 
son's Shakespeare Pope's emendation was adopted, and ' scape of 
nature ' interpreted as meaning any irregularity in the course of 
things, or any event which, though natural, is uncommon enough to 
excite particular notice, such as a ' distemper'd day,' or an ' exhala- 
tion in the sky.' — distemper'd day: day of disturbed, unsettled weather. 
For 'distemper'd' applied to feelings, cf. IV, iii, 21. 

156. his: its. Referring to ' event.' The form ' its,' though repeat- 
edly used by Shakespeare, especially in his later plays, had not then 
the stamp of English currency. 

157. meteors : supernatural phenomena. Herein lies the difference 
in Elizabethan English between ' meteor ' and ' exhalation.' ' Meteor' 
always bore a more ominous, or ill-boding, sense. Cf. V, ii, 53 ; 
1 Henry IV, V ', i, 19-20: "And be no more an exhal'd meteor, A 
prodigy of fear, and a portent Of broached mischief to the unborn 
times"; Romeo mid Juliet, III, v, 12-13: " Yond light is not day- 
light ... It is some meteor that the sun exhales." 

158. Abortives : untimely births. These were thought to portend 
calamities and disasters. 



JO THE NEW HUDSON SHAKESPEARE act in 

Pandulph. O, sir, when he shall hear of your approach, 
If that young Arthur be not gone already, 
Even at that news he dies ; and then the hearts 
Of all his people shall revolt from him 165 

And kiss the lips of unacquainted change 
And pick strong matter of revolt and wrath 
Out of the bloody fingers' ends of John. 
Methinks I see this hurly all on foot : 

And, O, what better matter breeds for you 170 

Than I have nam'd ! The bastard Faulconbridge 
Is now in England, ransacking the church, 
Offending charity : if but a dozen French 
Were there in arms, they would be as a call 
To train ten thousand English to their side, 175 

Or as a little snow, tumbled about, 
Anon becomes a mountain. O noble Dauphin, 
Go with me to the king : 't is wonderful 
What may be wrought out of their discontent, 
Now that their souls are topful of offence. 180 

For England go : I will whet on the king. 

Lewis. Strong reasons make strong actions : let us go : 
If you say ay, the king will not say no. , Exeimt 

182. strong actions F2F3F4 I strange actions Fi. 

166. unacquainted : unaccustomed. Cf. V, ii, 32. 

169. hurly: tumult, commotion. Cf. 2 Henry IV, III, i. 25. 

174. call. "An allusion to the reed, or pipe, termed a bird-call; or 
to the practice of bird-catchers, who, in laying their nets, place a 
caged bird over them, which they term the call-bird or bird-call, to 
lure the wild birds to the snare." — Staunton. 

175. train : draw, attract. From Old Fr. trainer (Latin trahere). 
180. topful of offence : brimful of displeasure. 



ACT IV 

Scene I. [A room in a castle] 
Enter Hubert and Executioners 

Hubert. Heat me these irons hot ; and look thou stand 
Within the arras : when I strike my foot 
Upon the bosom of the ground, rush forth, 
And bind the boy which you shall find with me 
Fast to the chair : be heedful : hence, and watch. 5 

1 Executioner. I hope your warrant will bear out the 
deed. 

Hubert. Uncleanly scruples ! fear not you : look to 't. 

[Exeunt Executioners] 
Young lad, come forth ; I have to say with you. 

Enter Arthur 

Arthur. Good morrow, Hubert. 

Hubert. Good morrow, little prince. 

Arthur. As little prince, having so great a title 10 

To be more prince, as may be. You are sad. 
Hubert. Indeed, I have been merrier. 

1. me: I pray you. The so-called ethical dative. Seenote,III,iv,i46. 

2. arras : hangings of figured tapestry with which rooms were 
lined. So called from Arras in Picardy. To keep these hangings 
from being rotted by the damp, they were hung on frames, far 
enough from the walls to admit of a person's hiding behind them. 

71 



72 THE NEW HUDSON SHAKESPEARE act iv 

Arthur. Mercy on me ! 

Methinks no body should be sad but I : 
Yet, I remember, when I was in France, 
Young gentlemen would be as sad as night, 15 

Only for wantonness. By my Christendom, 
So I were out of prison and kept sheep, 
I should be as merry as the day is long ; 
And so I would be here, but that I doubt 
My uncle practises more harm to me : 20 

He is afraid of me and I of him : 
Is it my fault that I was Geffrey's son ? 
No, indeed is 't not ; and I would to heaven 
I were your son, so you would love me, Hubert. 24 

Hubert. [Aside] If I talk to him, with his innocent prate 
He will awake my mercy which lies dead : 
Therefore I will be sudden and dispatch. 

Arthur. Are you sick, Hubert ? you look pale to-day : 
In sooth, I would you were a little sick, 
That I might sit all night and watch with you : 30 

I warrant I love you more than you do me. 

Hubert. [Aside] His words do take possession of my 
bosom. 
Read here, young Arthur. [Showing^ a paper] 

[Aside] How now, foolish rheum ! 

18. be as Ff | be Pope. 23. is 't F1F4 I it 's F2F3. 

16. Only for wantonness : out of mere affectation. That melancholy 
was a fashionable affectation in Shakespeare's day may be inferred 
from frequent allusions in contemporary literature. Cf. As You Like 
It, IV, i, 10. — Christendom: christening, baptism. 

19. doubt : fear, suspect. So in V, vi, 44. 

20. practises : contrives. Cf. Romeo and Juliet, III, v, 211. 
33. rheum : tears. See note, III, i, 22. 



scene i KING JOHN 73 

Turning dispiteous torture out o' door ! 

I must be brief, lest resolution drop 35 

Out at mine eyes in tender womanish tears. 

Can you not read it ? is it not fair writ ? 

Arthur. Too fairly, Hubert, for so foul effect : 
Must you with hot irons burn out both mine eyes ? 

Hubert. Young boy, I must. 

Arthur. And will you ? 

Hubert. And I will. 40 

Arthur. Have you the heart ? When your head did but 
ache, 
I knit my handkercher about your brows, 
The best I had, a princess wrought it me, 
And I did never ask it you again ; 

And with my hand at midnight held your head, 45 

And like the watchful minutes to the hour, 
Still and anon cheer'd up the heavy time, 
Saying, ' What lack you ? ' and ' Where lies your grief ? ' 
Or, ' What good love may I perform for you ? ' 
Many a poor man's son would have lien still 50 

And ne'er have spoke a loving word to you ; 
But you at your sick service had a prince. 
Nay, you may think my love was crafty love 

35. lest F4 I least F1F2F3. 

34. dispiteous : merciless. The Folios spell ' dispitious.' 

35. brief: quick. Cf. IV, iii, 158. 

46. like the . . . the hour : as the minutes watch over (or mark) the 
progress of the hour. The inversion of the words is common in 
Middle and Elizabethan English. 

47. Still and anon : continually, ever and again. 

52. sick service : service done to the sick. An instance of what is 
often called transferred epithet. 



74 THE NEW HUDSON SHAKESPEARE act iv 

And call it cunning : do, and if you will : 

If heaven be pleas'd that you must use me ill, 55 

Why then you must. Will you put out mine eyes ? 

These eyes that never did nor never shall 

So much as frown on you. 

Hubert. I have sworn to do it ; 

And with hot irons must I burn them out. 

Arthur. Ah, none but in this iron age would do it ! 60 
The iron of itself, though heat red-hot, 
Approaching near these eyes, would drink my tears 
And quench his fiery indignation 
Even in the matter of mine innocence ; 
Nay, after that, consume away in rust, 65 

But for containing fire to harm mine eye. 
Are you more stubborn-hard than hammer'd iron ? 
An if an angel should have come to me 
And told me Hubert should put out mine eyes, 
I would not have believ'd him, — no tongue but Hubert's. 

Hubert. Come forth. [Stamps] 71 

[Re-enter Executioners, with a cord, irons, &c.~\ 

Do as I bid you do. 

Arthur. O, save me, Hubert, save me ! my eyes are out 
Even with the fierce looks of these bloody men. 74 

Hubert. Give me the iron, I say, and bind him here. 

Arthur. Alas, what need you be so boisterous-rough ? 
I will not struggle, I will stand stone-still. 
For heaven sake, Hubert, let me not be bound ! 

54. and if Ff | an if Theobald. 63. his Capell 1 this Ff. 

54. and if. An old reduplication much used in Shakespeare's time. 
61. heat: heated. Cf. 'waft,' II, i, 73. See Abbott, § 342. 



scene i KING JOHN 75 

Nay, hear me, Hubert, drive these men away, 

And I will sit as quiet as a lamb ; 80 

I will not stir, nor wince, nor speak a word, 

Nor look upon the iron angerly : 

Thrust but these men away, and I '11 forgive you, 

Whatever torment you do put me to. 

Hubert. Go, stand within ; let me alone with him. 85 

1 Executioner. I am best pleased to be from such a 
deed. [Exeunt Executioners] 

Arthur. Alas, I then have chid away my friend ! 
He hath a stern look, but a gentle heart : 
Let him come back, that his compassion may 
Give life to yours. 

Hubert. Come, boy, prepare yourself 90 

Arthur. Is there no remedy ? 

Hubert. None, but to lose your eyes. 

Arthur. O heaven, that there were but a mote in yours, 
A grain, a dust, a gnat, a wandering hair, 
Any annoyance in that precious sense ! 
Then feeling what small things are boisterous there, 95 

Your vile intent must needs seem horrible. 

Hubert. Is this your promise ? go to, hold your tongue. 

Arthur. Hubert, the utterance of a brace of tongues 
Must needs want pleading for a pair of eyes : 
Let me not hold my tongue, let me not, Hubert ; 100 

Or, Hubert, if you will, cut out my tongue, 
So I may keep mine eyes : O, spare mine eyes, 
Though to no use but still to look on you ! 

81. wince F2F3F4 I winch Fi. 

81. wince. The First Folio spelling indicates the old pronunciation. 
85. let me alone : leave me to settle things by myself. 



76 THE NEW HUDSON SHAKESPEARE act iv 

Lo, by my troth, the instrument is cold 
And would not harm me. 

Hubert. I can heat it, boy. 105 

Arthur. No, in good sooth ; the fire is dead with grief, 
Being create for comfort, to be used 
In undeserv'd extremes : see else yourself ; 
There is no malice in this burning coal ; 
The breath of heaven hath blown his spirit out no 

And strew 'd repentant ashes on his head. 

Hubert. But with my breath I can revive it, boy. 

Arthur. And if you do, you will but make it blush 
And glow with shame of your proceedings, Hubert : 
Nay, it perchance will sparkle in your eyes ; 115 

And like a dog that is compelPd to fight, 
Snatch at his master that doth tarre him on. 
All things that you should use to do me wrong 
Deny their office : only you do lack 

That mercy which fierce fire and iron extends, 120 

Creatures of note for mercy-lacking uses. 

Hubert. Well, see to live ; I will not touch thine eye 
For all the treasure that thine uncle owes : 
Yet am I sworn and I did purpose, boy, 
With this same very iron to burn them out. 125 

106-108. fire . . . extremes. Johnson paraphrases the passage as 
follows : " The fire, being created not to hurt, but to comfort, is 
dead with grief for finding itself used in acts of cruelty, which, 
being innocent, I have not deserved." 

109. in this burning. In earlier editions of Hudson's Shakespeare 
Grey's reading ' burning in this ' was adopted. 

117. tarre : incite, instigate. Cf. Hamlet, II, ii, 370 : " The nation 
holds it no sin to tarre them to controversy " ; Troilus and Cressida, 
I, iii, 391-392 : " Pride alone Must tarre the mastiffs on." 



scene ii KING JOHN jj 

Arthur. O, now you look like Hubert ! all this while 
You were disguis'd. 

Hubert. Peace; no more. Adieu. 

Your uncle must not know but you are dead ; 
I '11 fill these dogged spies with false reports : 
And, pretty child, sleep doubtless and secure, 130 

That Hubert, for the wealth of all the world, 
Will not offend thee. 

Arthur. O heaven ! I thank you, Hubert. 

Hubert. Silence ; no more : go closely in with me : 
Much danger do I undergo for thee. Exeunt 

Scene II. [King John's palace'] 
Enter King John, Pembroke, Salisbury, and other Lords 

King John. Here once again we sit, once again crown'd, 
And look'd upon, I hope, with cheerful eyes. 

Pembroke. This * once again,' but that your highness 
pleased, 
Was once superfluous : you were crown'd before, 
And that high royalty was ne'er pluck'd off, 5 

The faiths of men ne'er stained with revolt ; 
Fresh expectation troubled not the land 
With any long'd-for change or better state. 

Salisbury. Therefore, to be possess'd with double pomp, 

1. again crown'd F3F4 I against crown'd F1F2. 

130. doubtless: fearless. — secure. See note, II, i, 27. 
133. closely : secretly. Frequently so. Cf. Hamlet, III, i, 29 : 
" For we have closely sent for Hamlet hither." 
4. once superfluous : once more than enough. 



78 THE NEW HUDSON SHAKESPEARE act iv 

To guard a title that was rich before, 10 

To gild refined gold, to paint the lily, 

To throw a perfume on the violet, 

To smooth the ice, or add another hue 

Unto the rainbow, or with taper-light 

To seek the beauteous eye of heaven to garnish,. 15 

Is wasteful and ridiculous excess. 

Pembroke. But that your royal pleasure must be done, 
This act is as an ancient tale new told, 
And in the last repeating troublesome, 
Being urged at a time unseasonable. 20 

Salisbury. In this the antique and well noted face 
Of plain old form is much disfigured ; 
And, like a shifted wind unto a sail, 
It makes the course of thoughts to fetch about, 
Startles and frights consideration, 25 

Makes sound opinion sick and truth suspected, 
For putting on so new a fashion'd robe. 

Pembroke. When workmen strive to do better than well, 
They do confound their skill in covetousness ; 
And oftentimes excusing of a fault 30 

Doth make the fault the worse by the excuse, 
As patches set upon a little breach 
Discredit more in hiding of the fault 
Than did the fault before it was so patch'd. 

Salisbury. To this effect, before you were new crown 'd, 
We breath'd our counsel : but it pleas'd your highness 36 

10. guard : ornament with facings, trim (as with lace or fringe). 

27. so new a fashion'd robe : a robe of so new a fashion. 

29. covetousness : over-eager desire to excel. Bacon, in like 
sort, distinguishes between the love of ' excelling ' and the love of 
' excellence,' and ascribes the failures of certain men to the former. 



scene ii KING JOHN 79 

To overbear it, and we are all well pleas'd, 
Since all and every part of what we would 
Doth make a stand at what your highness will. 

King John. Some reasons of this double coronation 40 
I have possess'd you with and think them strong ; 
And more, more strong, then lesser is my fear, 
I shall indue you with : meantime but ask 
What you would have reform'd that is not well, 
And well shall you perceive how willingly 45 

I will both hear and grant you your requests. 

Pembroke. Then I, as one that am the tongue of these 
To sound the purposes of all their hearts, 
Both for myself and them, but, chief of all, 
Your safety, for the which myself and them 50 

Bend their best studies, heartily request 
Th' enfranchisement of Arthur ; whose restraint 
Doth move the murmuring lips of discontent 
To break into this dangerous argument, — 
If what in rest you have in right you hold, 55 

Why then your fears, which, as they say, attend 
The steps of wrong, should move you to mew up 
Your tender kinsman and to choke his days 
With barbarous ignorance and deny his youth 
The rich advantage of good exercise ? 60 

That the time's enemies may not have this 
To grace occasions, let it be our suit 
That you have bid us ask his liberty ; 

42. then. Some editors adopt Tyrwhitt's emendation ' when.' 
50. them. Probably a printer's repetition from preceding line. 
55. If . . . hold : if you rightly hold what you possess in peace. 
61-62. That . . . occasions : that the foes of the established order of 
things may not have this argument to use when opportunity offers. 



80 THE NEW HUDSON SHAKESPEARE act iv 

Which for our goods we do no further ask 

Than whereupon our weal, on you depending, 65 

Counts it your weal he have his liberty. 

Enter Hubert 

King John. Let it be so : I do commit his youth 
To your direction. Hubert, what news with you ? 

[Taking him aparf\ 

Pembroke. This is the man should do the bloody deed ; 
He show'd his warrant to a friend of mine : 70 

The image of a wicked heinous fault 
Lives in his eye ; that close aspect of his 
Does show the mood of a much troubled breast ; 
And I do fearfully believe 't is done, 
What we so fear'd he had a charge to do. 75 

Salisbury. The colour of the king doth come and go 
Between his purpose and his conscience, 
Like heralds 'twixt two dreadful battles set : 
His passion is so ripe, it needs must break. 

73. Does F4 I Do F1F3 I Doe Fa I Doth Dyce. 

72. close aspect: look of secrecy, unfathomable expression. Hubert 
must have looked as if he were hiding a guilty secret. 

77. Between . . . conscience : between his wicked purpose and his 
consciousness of right. Hubert gives the king to understand that his 
order for Arthur's death has been performed. — In Shakespeare's 
time 'conscience' was used as a dissyllable or trisyllable indifferently, 
as prosody might require. Here it is properly a trisyllable. The 
same was the case with ' patience,' and other like words. Similarly 
the termination ion is frequently pronounced as two syllables at the 
end of a line (cf. 'consideration,' line 25, 'preparation,' line in). 
See Abbott, § 479. 

78. battles : armies drawn up in battle array. Frequently so. 



scene ii KING JOHN 8 1 

Pembroke. And when it breaks, I fear will issue thence 
The foul corruption of a sweet child's death. 81 

King John. We cannot hold mortality's strong hand : 
Good lords, although my will to give is living, 
The suit which you demand is gone and dead : 
He tells us Arthur is deceas'd to-night. 85 

Salisbury. Indeed we fear'd his sickness was past cure. 

Pembroke. Indeed we heard how near his death he was 
Before the child himself felt he was sick : 
This must be answer'd either here or hence. 

King John. Why do you bend such solemn brows on me ? 
Think you I bear the shears of destiny ?. 91 

Have I commandment on the pulse of life ? 

Salisbury. It is apparent foul play ; and 't is shame 
That greatness should so grossly offer it : 
So thrive it in your game ! and so, farewell. 95 

Pembroke. Stay yet, Lord Salisbury ; I '11 go with thee, 
And find th' inheritance of this poor child, 
His little kingdom of a forced grave. 
That blood which ow'd the breadth of all this isle, 
Three foot of it doth hold : bad world the while ! 100 

This must not be thus borne : this will break out 
To all our sorrows, and ere long I doubt. Exeunt [Lords] 

85. to-night : last night, the past night. See Abbott, § 190. Cf. The 
Merchant of Venice, II, v, 18 : " I did dream to-night." 

89. answer'd : atoned for. Cf. Twelfth Night, III, iii, 33. 

93. apparent : evident, manifest, unmistakable. 

100. foot : feet. In words denoting measurement of time, space, 
and quantity the singular form is often used with the plural sense. 
— bad world the while: a bad world when such things happen. 
Cf. IV, iii, 116. 

102. doubt: fear, suspect. So in IV, i, 19. 



82 THE NEW HUDSON SHAKESPEARE act iv 

King John. They burn in indignation. I repent : 
There is no sure foundation set on blood, 
No certain life achiev'd by others' death. 105 

Ente?' a Messenger 

A fearful eye thou hast : where is that blood 
That I have seen inhabit in those cheeks ? 
So foul a sky clears not without a storm : 
Pour down thy weather : how goes all in France ? 

Messenger. From France to England. Never such a 
power no 

For any foreign preparation 
Was levied in the body of 'a land. 
The copy of your speed is learn 'd by them ; 
For when you should be told they do prepare, 
The tidings comes that they are all arriv'd. 115 

King John. O, where hath our intelligence been drunk ? 
Where hath it slept ? Where is my mother's care, 
That such an army could be drawn in France, 
And she not hear of it ? 

Messenger. My liege, her ear 

Is stopp'd with dust ; the first of April died 120 

Your noble mother : and, as I hear, my lord, 
The Lady Constance in a frenzy died 
Three days before : but this from rumour's tongue 
I idly heard ; if true or false I know not. 

King John. Withhold thy speed, dreadful occasion! 125 

106. fearful : full of fear. Cf. ' fearfully,' line 74. 
109-110. how . . . England. The messenger plays upon 'goes.' 
His answer means ' all in France now goes to England.' 
113. copy : example, pattern. Often so. 



scene ii KING JOHN 83 

O, make a league with me, till I have pleas'd 

My discontented peers ! What ! mother dead 1 

How wildly then walks my estate in France ! 

Under whose conduct came those powers of France 

That thou for truth givest out are landed here? 130 

Messenger. Under the Dauphin. 

King John. Thou hast made me giddy 

With these ill tidings. 

E?iter the Bastard and Peter of Pom/ret 

Now, what says the world 
To your proceedings ? do not seek to stuff 
My head with more ill news, for it is full. 

Bastard. But if you be afeard to hear the worst, 135 
Then let the worst unheard fall on your head. 

Iving John. Bear with me, cousin ; for I was amaz'd 
Under the tide : but now I breathe again 
Aloft the flood, and can give audience 
To any tongue, speak it of what it will. 140 

Bastard. How I have sped among the clergymen, 
The sums I have collected shall express. 
But as I travelPd hither through the land, 
I find the people strangely fantasied ; 

Possess'd with rumours, full of idle dreams, 145 

Not knowing what they fear, but full of fear : 
And here 's a prophet, that I brought with me 
From forth the streets of Pomfret, whom I found 
W T ith many hundreds treading on his heels ; 
To whom he sung, in rude harsh-sounding rhymes, 1 50 

That, ere the next Ascension-day at noon, 
Your highness should deliver up your crown. 



84 THE NEW HUDSON SHAKESPEARE act iv 

King John. Thou idle dreamer, wherefore didst thou so ? 

Peter. Foreknowing that the truth will fall out so. 

King John. Hubert, away with him ; imprison him ; 155 
And on that day at noon, whereon he says 
I shall yield up my crown, let him be hang'd. 
Deliver him to safety, and return, 
For I must use thee. [Exit Hubert with Peter] 

O my gentle cousin, 
Hear'st thou the news abroad, who are arriv'd ? 160 

Bastard. The French, my lord ; men's mouths are full 
of it: 
Besides, I met Lord Bigot and Lord Salisbury, 
With eyes as red as new-enkindled fire, 
And others more, going to seek the grave 
Of Arthur, whom they say is kill'd to-night 165 

On your suggestion. 

King John. Gentle kinsman, go, 

And thrust thyself into their companies : 
I have a way to win their loves again ; 
Bring them before me. 

Bastard. I will seek them out. 

King John. Nay, but make haste ; the better foot before. 
O, let me have no subject enemies, 171 

When adverse foreigners affright my towns 
With dreadful pomp of stout invasion ! 
Be Mercury, set feathers to thy heels, 
And fly like thought from them to me again. 175 

Bastard. The spirit of the time shall teach me speed. 

Exit 

158. safety: safe-keeping, custody. Cf. Ro??ieo tf7^//)///V/,V, iii, 183. 
173. stout : bold, proud. Cf. 1 Henry VI, III, iv, 19. 



scene ii KING JOHN 85 

King John. Spoke like a sprightful noble gentleman. 
Go after him ; for he perhaps shall need 
Some messenger betwixt me and the peers ; 
And be thou he. 

Messenger. With all my heart, my liege. \Exit\ 180 

King John. My mother dead ! 

Re-e7iter Hubert 

Hubert. My lord, they say five moons were seen to 
night ; 
Four fixed, and the fifth did whirl about 
The other four in wondrous motion. 

King John. Five moons ! 

Hubert. Old men and beldams in the streets 185 

Do prophesy upon it dangerously : 
Young Arthur's death is common in their mouths : 
And when they talk of him, they shake their heads 
And whisper one another in the ear ; 

And he that speaks doth gripe the hearer's wrist, 190 

Whilst he that hears makes fearful action, 
With wrinkled brows, with nods, with rolling eyes. 
I saw a smith stand with his hammer, thus, 
The whilst his iron did on the anvil cool, 
With open mouth swallowing a tailor's news ; 195 

Who, with his shears and measure in his hand, 
Standing on slippers, which his nimble haste 
Had falsely thrust upon contrary feet, 
Told of a many thousand warlike French 
That were embattailed and rank'd in Kent : 200 

Another lean unwash'd artificer 
Cuts off his tale and talks of Arthur's death. 



86 THE NEW HUDSON SHAKESPEARE act iv 

King John. Why seek'st thou to possess me with these 
fears ? 
Why urgest thou so oft young Arthur's death ? 
Thy hand hath murd'red him : I had a mighty cause 205 
To wish him dead, but thou hadst none to kill him. 

Hubert. No had, my lord ! why, did you not provoke me ? 

King John. It is the curse of kings to be attended 
By slaves that take their humours for a warrant 
To break within the bloody house of life, 210 

And on the winking of authority 
To understand a law, to know the meaning 
Of dangerous majesty, when perchance it frowns 
More upon humour than advis'd respect. 

Hubert. Here is your hand and seal for what I did. 215 

King John. O, when the last account 'twixt heaven and 
earth 
Is to be made, then shall this hand and seal 
Witness against us to damnation ! 
How oft the sight of means to do ill deeds 
Make deeds ill done ! Hadst not thou been by, 220 

A fellow by the hand of nature mark'd, 
Quoted and sign'd to do a deed of shame, 
This murder had not come into my mind : 
But taking note of thy abhorr'd aspect, 

Finding thee fit for bloody villainy, 225 

Apt, liable to be employ'd in danger, 

207. No had : had not. A sixteenth century idiom, found in Sir 
Thomas More, Udall, Lodge, Dekker, and other dramatists. Cf. 
Roister Doister, I, iv, 34 : " No is ? "; and II, iv, 17 : " No did ? " 
214. advis'd respect: deliberate judgment, consideration., 
222. Quoted; noted. Etymologically it means 'specially marked out.' 



scene ii KING JOHN 87 

I faintly broke with thee of Arthur's death ; 

And thou, to be endeared to a king, 

Made it no conscience to destroy a prince. 

Hubert. My lord, — 230 

King John. Hadst thou but shook thy head or made a 
pause 

When I spake darkly what I purposed, 

Or turn'd an eye of doubt upon my face, 

As bid me tell my tale in express words, 

Deep shame had struck me dumb, made me break off 235 

And those thy fears might have wrought fears in me : 

But thou didst understand me by my signs 

And didst in signs again parley with sin ; 

Yea, without stop, didst let thy heart consent, 

And consequently thy rude hand to act 240 

The deed, which both our tongues held vile to name. 

Out of my sight, and never see me more ! 

My nobles leave me ; and my state is brav'd, 

Even at my gates, with ranks of foreign powers : 

Nay, in the body of this fleshly land, 245 

This kingdom, this confine of blood and breath, 

Hostility and civil tumult reigns 

Between my conscience and my cousin's death. 

231-248. " There are many touches of nature in this conference of 
John with Hubert. A man engaged in wickedness would keep the 
profit to himself, and transferthe guilt to his accomplice. This timidity 
of guilt is drawn ab ipsis recessions, from the intimate knowledge of 
mankind ; particularly that line in which he says that to have bid 
him tell his tale in express words would have struck him dumb : 
nothing is more certain than that bad men . . . palliate their actions 
to their own minds by gentle terms, and hide themselves from their 
own detection in ambiguities and subterfuges." — Johnson. 



88 THE NEW HUDSON SHAKESPEARE act iv 

Hubert. Arm you against your other enemies, 
I '11 make a peace between your soul and you. 250 

Young Arthur is alive : this hand of mine 
Is yet a maiden and an innocent hand, 
Not painted with the crimson spots of blood. 
Within this bosom never ent 'red yet 

The dreadful motion of a murderous thought ; 255 

And you have slander'd nature in my form, 
Which, howsoever rude exteriorly, 
Is yet the cover of a fairer mind 
Than to be butcher of an innocent child. 

King John. Doth Arthur live ? O, haste thee to the peers, 
Throw this report on their incensed rage, 261 

And make them tame to their obedience ! 
Forgive the comment that my passion made 
Upon thy feature ; for my rage was blind, 
And foul imaginary eyes of blood 265 

Presented thee more hideous than thou art. 
O, answer not, but to my closet bring 
The angry lords with all expedient haste. 
I conjure thee but slowly ; run more fast. Exeunt 

Scene III. \Bcforc the east/e] 
Enter Arthur, on the lualls 

Arthur. The wall is high, and yet will I leap down : 
Good ground, be pitiful and hurt me not ! 
There 's few or none do know me : if they did, 
This ship-boy's semblance hath disguis'd me quite. 

265. imaginary : imaginative, that which conjures up images. 



scene in KING JOHN 89 

I am afraid ; and yet I '11 venture it. 5 

If I get down, and do not break my limbs, 

I '11 find a thousand shifts to get away : 

As good to die and go, as die and stay. [Leaps dow?i\ 

O me ! my uncle's spirit is in these stones : 9 

Heaven take my soul, and England keep my bones ! Dies 

E?iter Pembroke, Salisbury, and Bigot 

Salisbury. Lords, I will meet him at Saint Edmundsbury : 
It is our safety, and we must embrace 
This gentle offer of the perilous time. 

Pembroke. Who brought that letter from the cardinal ? 

Salisbury. The Count Melun, a noble lord of France ; 
Whose private with me of the Dauphin's love 16 

Is much more general than these lines import. • 

Bigot. To-morrow morning let us meet him then. 

Salisbury. Or rather then set forward ; for 't will be 
Two long da)'s' journey, lords, or ere we meet. 20 

Enter the Bastard 

Bastard. Once more to-day well met, distemper'd lords ! 
The king by me requests your presence straight. 

Salisbury. The king hath dispossess'd himself of us : 
We will not line his thin bestained cloak 
With our pure honours, nor attend the foot 25 

11. him : the Dauphin. The reference is intentionally mysterious. 

16. private. Either ' secret information,' or ' personal conference.' 

There is wordplay between ' private ' and ' general ' in the next line. 

20. or ere : before. A common usage. So in V, vi, 44. 

21. distemper'd: angry, out of temper. Ci. Hamlet, III, ii, 310-312 : 
" The king, sir, is ... in his retirement marvellous distemper'd." 



90 THE NEW HUDSON SHAKESPEARE act iv 

That leaves the print of blood where'er it walks. 
Return and tell him so : we know the worst. 

Bastard. Whate'er you think, good words, I think, were 
best. 

Salisbury. Our griefs, and not our manners, reason now. 

Bastard. But there is little reason in your grief ; 30 

Therefore 't were reason you had manners now. 

Pembroke. Sir, sir, impatience hath his privilege. 

Bastard. 'T is true, to hurt his master, no man else. 

Salisbury. This is the prison. What is he lies here ? 

[Seeing Arthur] 

Pembroke. O death, made proud with pure and princely 
beauty 1 35 

The earth had not a hole to hide this deed. 

, Salisbury. Murder, as hating what himself hath done, 
Doth lay it open to urge on revenge. 

Bigot. Or, when he doom'd this beauty to a grave, 
Found it too precious-princely for a grave. 40 

Salisbury. Sir Richard, what think you ? have you be- 
held, 
Or have you read or heard ? or could you think ? 
Or do you almost think, although you see, 
That you do see ? could thought, without this object, 
Form such another ? This is the very top, 45 

The height, the crest, or crest unto the crest, 
Of murder's arms : this is the bloodiest shame, 
The wildest savagery, the vilest stroke, 

33. man F2F3F4 I mans Fi. 41. have you F3F4 I you have F1F2. 

29. griefs: grievances. Cf. Julius Ccesar, I, iii, 118. — reason: 
speak, discourse. Cf. Cymbeline, IV, ii, 14. 

32, 33. his: its. As in II, i, 95, etc. See note, II, i, 160. 



scene in KING JOHN 91 

That ever wall-eyed wrath or staring rage 

Presented to the tears of soft remorse. 50 

Pembroke. All murders past do stand excused in this : 
And this, so sole and so unmatchable, 
Shall give a holiness, a purity, 
To the yet unbegotten sin of times ; 

And prove a deadly bloodshed but a jest, 55 

Exampled by this heinous spectacle.' 

Bastard. It is a damned and a bloody work ; 
The graceless action of a heavy hand, 
If that it be the work of any hand. 

Salisbury. If that it be the work of any hand ! 60 

We had a kind of light what would ensue : 

It is the shameful work of Hubert's hand ; 

The practice and the purpose of the king : 

From whose obedience I forbid my soul, 

Kneeling before this ruin of sweet life, 65 

And breathing to his breathless excellence 

The incense of a vow, a holy vow, 

Never to taste the pleasures of the world, 

Never to be infected with delight, 

Nor conversant with ease and idleness, 70 

Till I have set a glory to this hand, 

By giving it the worship of revenge. 

Pembroke. 1 _ ..... _ . . 

^ V Our souls religiously confirm thy words. 

Bigot. J 

49. wall-eyed : with glaring eyes. The word properly describes 
eyes with a white or pale-gray iris. Cf. Cotgrave : "Oeil de chevre, a 
whall or over-white eye, an eye full of white spots, or whose apple 
seems divided by a streak of white." 

50. remorse: pity, compassion. So in line no and elsewhere. 
54. times: times to come. Contrasted with ' murders past,' line 51. 



92 THE NEW HUDSON SHAKESPEARE act iv 

E?iter Hubert 

Hubert. Lords, I am hot with haste in seeking you : 
Arthur doth live ; the king hath sent for you. 75 

Salisbury. O, he is bold and blushes not at death. 
Avaunt, thou hateful villain, get thee gone ! 

Hubert. I am no villain. 

Salisbury. Must I rob the law ? 

\Drawing his sworcf\ 

Bastard. Your sword is bright, sir ; put it up again. 

Salisbury. Not till I sheathe it in a murderer's skin. 80 

Hubert. Stand back, Lord Salisbury, stand back, I say ; 
By heaven, I think my sword 's as sharp as yours : 
I would not have you, lord, forget yourself, 
Nor tempt the danger of my true defence ; 
Lest I, by marking of your rage, forget 85 

Your worth, your greatness and nobility. 

Bigot. Out, dunghill ! dar'st thou brave a nobleman ? 

Hubert. Not for my life : but yet I dare defend 
My innocent life against an emperor. 

Salisbury. Thou art a murderer. 

Hubert. Do not prove me so ; 

Yet I am none : whose tongue soe'er speaks false, 91 

Not truly speaks ; who speaks not truly, lies. 

Pembroke. Cut him to pieces. 

Bastard. Keep the peace, I say. 

Salisbury. Stand by, or I shall gall you, Faulconbridge. 

Bastard. Thou wert better gall the devil, Salisbury : 95 

84. Nor risk attacking my defense in a just cause. 

90. Do not prove me so : do not prove me a murderer by provoking 
me to kill you. 

91. Yet: as yet, up to now. Cf. The Te?/ipest, II, ii, 82. 



scene in KING JOHN 93 

If thou but frown on me, or stir thy foot, 

Or teach thy hasty spleen to do me shame, 

I '11 strike thee dead. Put up thy sword betime ; 

Or I '11 so maul you and your toasting-iron, 

That you shall think the devil is come from hell. ioo 

Bigot. What wilt thou do, renowned Faulconbridge ? 
Second a villain and a murderer ? 

Hubert. Lord Bigot, I am none. 

Bigot. Who kill'd this prince ? 

Hubert. 'T is not an hour since I left him well : 
I honour'd him, I lov'd him, and will weep 105 

My date of life out for his sweet life's loss. 

Salisbury. Trust not those cunning waters of his eyes, 
For villainy is not without such rheum ; 
And he, long traded in it, makes it seem 
Like rivers of remorse and innocency. no 

Away with me, all you whose souls abhor 
The uncleanly savours of a slaughter-house ; 
For I am stifled with this smell of sin. 

Bigot. Away toward Bury, to the Dauphin there ! 

Pembroke. There tell the king he may inquire us out. 

Exeunt Lords 1 1 5 

Bastard. Here 's a good world ! Knew you of this fair 
work ? 
Beyond the infinite and boundless reach 
Of mercy, if thou didst this deed of death, 
Art thou damn'd, Hubert. 

Hubert. Do but hear me, sir. 

Bastard. Ha ! I '11 tell thee what ; 120 

99. toasting-iron. Cf. Henry P, II, i, 8-10: "mine iron: it is a 
simple one ; but what though ? it will toast cheese." 



94 THE NEW HUDSON SHAKESPEARE act iv 

Thou 'rt damn'd as black — nay, nothing is so black ; 
Thou art more deep damn'd than Prince Lucifer : 
There is not yet so ugly a fiend of hell 
As thou shalt be, if thou didst kill this child. 

Hubert. Upon my soul — 

Bastard. If thou didst but consent 

To this most cruel act, do but despair; 126 

And if thou want'st a cord, the smallest thread 
That ever spider twisted from her womb 
Will serve to strangle thee ; a rush will be a beam 
To hang thee on ; or wouldst thou drown thyself, 130 

Put but a little water in a spoon, 
And it shall be as all the ocean, 
Enough to stifle such a villain up. 
I do suspect thee very grievously. 

Hubert. If I in act, consent, or sin of thought, 135 

Be guilty of the stealing that sweet breath 
Which was embounded in this beauteous clay, 
Let hell want pains enough to torture me. 
I left him well. 

Bastard. Go, bear him in thine arms. 
I am amaz'd, methinks, and lose my way 140 

Among the thorns and dangers of this world. 
How easy dost thou take all England up ! 
From forth this morsel of dead royalty, 
The life, the right and truth of all this realm 

121. damn'd as black. Staunton thinks Shakespeare may here 
have had in mind the old religious plays of Coventry, wherein the 
damned souls have their faces blackened ; and he quotes from the 
old accounts: "Item, paid to three white souls, 5s. Item, paid to 
three black souls, 5 s. Item, for making and mending of the black 
souls' hose, 6d. Paid for blacking of the souls' faces, 6d." 



scene in KING JOHN 95 

Is fled to heaven ; and England now is left 145 

To tug and scamble and to part by the teeth 

The unowed interest of proud-swelling state. 

Now for the bare-pick'd bone of majesty 

Doth dogged war bristle his angry crest 

And snarleth in the gentle eyes of peace : 1 50 

Now powers from home and discontents at home 

Meet in one line ; and vast confusion waits, 

As doth a raven on a sick-fall'n beast, 

The imminent decay of wrested pomp. 

Now happy he whose cloak and cincture can 155 

Hold out this tempest. Bear away that child 

And follow me with speed ; I '11 to the king : 

A thousand businesses are brief in hand, 

And heaven itself doth frown upon the land. \Exeunt\ 

146. scamble Ff | scramble Rowe. 155. cincture Pope | center Ff. 

146. scamble : scramble for, tussle for, struggle for. Cf. Henry V, 
I, i, 4 ; V, ii, 218. So in Marlowe's The Jew of Malta, I, i, 121-122: 

I cannot tell, but we have scambled up 

More wealth by far than those that brag of faith. 

147. unowed: unowned. The 'unowed interest' is the interest not 
now legally possessed by any one. 

152. vast : empty, waste. Like the Latin vastus. Sometimes it 
appears to mean 'wasting' or 'devastating,' as in Henry V, II, iv, 
104-105: "The poor souls for whom this hungry war Opens his 
vasty jaws." 

155. cincture : belt, girdle. Perhaps ' centure ' should be the 
reading here (see textual note). 

158. are brief in hand : call for immediate dispatch. 



ACT V 

Scene I. [King John's palace'] 
Enter King John, Pandulph, and Attendants 

King John. Thus have I yielded up into your hand 
The circle of my glory. [ Giving the crown~\ 

Pandulph. Take again 

From this my hand, as holding of the pope 
Your sovereign greatness and authority. 

King John. Now keep your holy word : go meet the 
French, 5 

And from his holiness use all your power 
To stop their marches 'fore we are inflam'd. 
Our discontented counties do revolt ; 
Our people quarrel with obedience, 

Swearing allegiance and the love of soul 10 

To stranger blood, to foreign royalty. 
This inundation of mistemp'red humour 
Rests by you only to be qualified : 
Then pause not ; for the present time 's so sick, 
That present medicine must be minist'red, 1 5 

Or overthrow incurable ensues. 

ACT V. Scene I. | Actus Quartus, Scaena prima Ff. 

8. counties. Probably refers not to geographical divisions but to 
the peers, or nobles. ' County ' is an old form of ' count.' 
12-13. The metaphors are from the mediasval physiology. 
96 



scene i KING JOHN 97 

Pandulph. It was my breath that blew this tempest up, 
Upon your stubborn usage of the pope ; 
But since you are a gentle convertite, 

My tongue shall hush again this storm of war 20 

And make fair weather in your blust'ring land. 
On this Ascension-day, remember well, 
Upon your oath of service to the pope, 
Go I to make the French lay down their arms. Exit 

King John. Is this Ascension-day ? Did not the prophet 
Say that before Ascension-day at noon 26 

My crown I should give off ? Even so I have : 
I did suppose it should be on constraint ; 
But, heaven be thank'd, it is but voluntary. 

Enter the Bastard 

Bastard. All Kent hath yielded ; nothing there holds out 
But Dover castle : London hath receiv'd, 31 

Like a kind host, the Dauphin and his powers : 
Your nobles will not hear you, but are gone 
To offer service to your enemy, 

And wild amazement hurries up and down 35 

The little number of your doubtful friends. 

King John. Would not my lords return to me again, 
After they heard young Arthur was alive ? 

Bastard. They found him dead and cast into the streets, 
An empty casket, where the jewel of life 40 

By some damn'd hand was robb'd and ta'en away. 

King John. That villain Hubert told me he did live. 

Bastard. So, on my soul, he did, for aught he knew. 

19. convertite : a person converted to a religious life. 

35. amazement: consternation. Cf. II, i, 226, 356; IV, ii, 137. 



98 THE NEW HUDSON SHAKESPEARE act v 

But wherefore do you droop ? why look you sad ? 

Be great in act, as you have been in thought ; 45 

Let not the world see fear and sad distrust 

Govern the motion of a kingly eye : 

Be stirring as the time ; be fire with fire ; 

Threaten the threatener and outface the brow 

Of bragging horror : so shall inferior eyes, 50 

That borrow their behaviours from the great, 

Grow great by your example and put on 

The dauntless spirit of resolution. 

Away, and glister like the god of war, 

When he intendeth to become the field : 55 

Show boldness and aspiring confidence. 

What, shall they seek the lion in his den, 

And fright him there ? and make him tremble there ? 

O, let it not be said : forage, and run 

To meet displeasure farther from the doors, 60 

And grapple with him ere he come so nigh. 

King John. The legate of the pope hath been with me, 
And I have made a happy peace with him ; 
And he hath promis'd to dismiss the powers 
Led by the Dauphin. 

Bastard. O inglorious league I 65 

Shall we, upon the footing of our land, 
Send fair-play orders and make compromise, 
Insinuation, parley and base truce 
To arms invasive ? shall a beardless boy, 

60. displeasure : enmity, hostility. The sense of the passage is 
' rush forth to hunt and dare the foe, as a hungry lion does to seek 
his prey.' 

66. upon . . . land : while our feet are on our own soil. 



scene ii KING JOHN 99 

A cock'red silken wanton, brave our fields, 70 

And flesh his spirit in a warlike soil, 

Mocking the air with colours idly spread, 

And find no check ? Let us, my liege, to arms : 

Perchance the cardinal cannot make your peace ; 

Or if he do, let it at least be said 75 

They saw we had a purpose of defence. 

King John. Have thou the ordering of this present time. 

Bastard. Away, then, with good courage ! yet, I know, 
Our party may well meet a prouder foe. Exeunt 

Scene II. [The Dauphin's camp at St, Bdmundsbttry\ 

Enter, in arms, Lewis, Salisbury, Melun, Pembroke, 
Bigot, and Soldiers 

Lewis. My Lord Melun, let this be copied out, 
And keep it safe for our remembrance : 
Return the precedent to these lords again ; 
That, having our fair order written down, 
Both they and we, perusing o'er these notes, 5 

May know wherefore we took the sacrament 
And keep our faiths firm and inviolable. 

Salisbury. Upon our sides it never shall be broken. 
And, noble Dauphin, albeit we swear 
A voluntary zeal and an unurg'd faith 10 

70. cock'red silken wanton : pampered, finely tailored milksop. 

71. flesh : make fierce. The metaphor is from the old practice of 
giving hawk or hound a bit of the flesh of the game killed, to whet 
eagerness in the chase. 

3. precedent: original draft of the treaty. Cf. Richard III, III, 
vi, 7 : " Eleven hours I spent to write it over, . . . The precedent 
was full as long a-doing." The Folios spell ' president.' 



IOO THE NEW HUDSON SHAKESPEARE act v 

To your proceedings ; yet believe me, prince, 

I am not glad that such a sore of time 

Should seek a plaster by contemn'd revolt, 

And heal the inveterate canker of one wound 

By making many. O, it grieves my soul, 15 

That I must draw this metal from my side 

To be a widow-maker ! O, and there 

Where honourable rescue and defence 

Cries out upon the name of Salisbury ! 

But such is the infection of the time, 20 

That, for the health and physic of our right, 

We cannot deal but with the very hand 

Of stern injustice and confused wrong. 

And is 't not pity, O my grieved friends, 

That we, the sons and children of this isle, 25 

Were born to see so sad an hour as this ; 

Wherein we step after a stranger march 

Upon her gentle bosom, and fill up 

Her enemies' ranks, — I must withdraw and weep 

Upon the spot of this enforced cause, — 30 

To grace the gentry of a land remote, 

And follow unacquainted colours here ? 

What, here ? O nation, that thou couldst remove ! 

That Neptune's arms, who clippeth thee about, 

Would bear thee from the knowledge of thyself, 35 

14. canker: corrosion, corruption. Cf. II, i, 194; III, iv, S2. 

30. spot : stain, blot, disgrace. Salisbury thinks it, as he well may, 
a foul dishonour thus to side with the invader of his country; and 
the conscience of duty, or the sense of right outraged in the person 
of Arthur, which compels him to do so, naturally wrings him with 
grief. — enforced : which we are forced to join. 

34. clippeth: encircleth, embraceth. Cf. / Henry IV, III, i, 44. 



scene ii KING JOHN IOI 

And grapple thee unto a pagan shore ; 

Where these two Christian armies might combine 

The blood of malice in a vein of league, 

And not to spend it so unneighbourly ! 

Lewis. A noble temper dost thou show in this ; 40 

And great affections wrestling in thy bosom 
Doth make an earthquake of nobility. 
O, what a noble combat hast thou fought 
Between compulsion and a brave respect 1 
Let me wipe off this honourable dew, 45 

That silverly doth progress on thy cheeks : 
My heart hath melted at a lady's tears, 
Being an ordinary inundation ; 
But this effusion of such manly drops, 

This .shower, blown up by tempest of the soul, 50 

Startles mine eyes, and makes me more amaz'd 
Than had I seen the vaulty top of heaven 
Figur'd quite o'er with burning meteors. 
Lift up thy brow, renowned Salisbury, 
And with a great heart heave away this storm : 55 

36. grapple Pope | cripple Ff. 

39. to spend. ' To ' is here used merely as an intensive prefix. 
The usage was common, and Shakespeare has it several times. 

44, compulsion. Referring to the ' enforced cause ' mentioned in 
line 30. Hanmer printed ' compassion ' for ' compulsion,' and Capell 
conjectured that 'compunction' was the word. — brave: manly, honour- 
able. A fitting epithet of the national feeling which has struggled so 
hard for the mastery in Salisbury's breast. — respect : consideration, 
motive, inducement. 

46. silverly: with a silvery appearance or hue. Keats uses the ad- 
jective both in this sense (Endymion, I, 541) and in that of 'with 
a silver sound' (Hyperion, II, 128). Mrs. Browning (A Drama of 
Exile) uses it in the former sense. 



102 THE NEW HUDSON SHAKESPEARE act V 

Commend these waters to those baby eyes 

That never saw the giant world enrag'd ; 

Nor met with fortune other than at feasts, 

Full warm of blood, of mirth, of gossiping. 

Come, come ; for thou shalt thrust thy hand as deep 60 

Into the purse of rich prosperity 

As Lewis himself : so, nobles, shall you all, 

That knit your sinews to the strength of mine. 

And even there, methinks, an angel spake. 

Enter Pandulph 

Look, where the holy legate comes apace, 65 

To give us warrant from the hand of heaven, 
And on our actions set the name of right 
With holy breath. 

Pandulph. Hail, noble prince of France I 

The next is this, King John hath reconcil'd 
Himself to Rome ; his spirit is come in, 70 

That so stood out against the holy church, 
The great metropolis and see of Rome : 
Therefore thy threatening colours now wind up ; 
And tame the savage spirit of wild war, 
That, like a lion fostered up at hand, 75 

59. warm of Ff | of warm Globe Camb. 

60-64. for . . . spake. " Surely the close proximity of ' purse,' 
'nobles,' and' angel,' shows that Shakespeare has here yielded to 
the fascination of a. jeu de mots, which he was unable to resist, how- 
ever unsuitable the occasion might be. The Dauphin, we may 
suppose, speaks 'aside,' with an accent and gesture which mark his 
contempt for the mercenary allies whom he intends to get rid of as 
soon as may be." — Camb. ' Noble,' like ' angel ' (see note, JI, i, 590), 
was the name of an English coin. 



scene ii KING JOHN 103 

It may lie gently at the foot of peace, 
And be no further harmful than in show. 

Lewis. Your grace shall pardon me, I will not back : 
I am too high-born to be propertied, 

To be a secondary at control, 80 

Or useful serving-man and instrument, 
To any sovereign state throughout the world. 
Your breath first kindled the dead coal of wars 
Between this chastis'd kingdom and myself, 
And brought in matter that should feed this fire ; 85 

And now 't is far too huge to be blown out 
With that same weak wind which enkindled it. 
You taught me how to know the face of right, 
Acquainted me with interest to this land, 
Yea, thrust this enterprise into my heart ; 90 

And come ye now to tell me John hath made 
His peace with Rome ? What is that peace to me ? 
I, by the honour of my marriage-bed, 
After young Arthur, claim this land for mine ; 
And, now it is half-conquer'd, must I back 95 

Because that John hath made his peace with Rome ? 
Am I Rome's slave ? What penny hath Rome borne, 
What men provided, what munition sent, 
To underprop this action ? Is 't not I 

That undergo this charge ? who else but I, 100 

And such as to my claim are liable, 

79. propertied : used as a chattel, treated as a piece of property. 

88. to know . . . right : to recognize my right. 

89. Made me aware of my claim on the land. 

101. And such as are willing to admit my claim. Cf. II, i, 490; 
IV, ii, 226. 



104 THE NEW HUDSON SHAKESPEARE act v 

Sweat in this business and maintain this war ? 

Have I not heard these islanders shout out 

1 Vive le roi ! ' as I have bank'd their towns ? 

Have I not here the best cards for the game, 105 

To win this easy match play'd for a crown ? 

And shall I now give o'er the yielded set ? 

No, no, on my soul, it never shall be said. 

Pandulph. You look but on the outside of this work. 

Lewis. Outside or inside, I will not return no 

Till my attempt so much be glorified 
As to my ample hope was promised 
Before I drew this gallant head of war, 
And cull'd these fiery spirits from the world, 
To outlook conquest and to win renown 1 1 5 

Even in the jaws of danger and of death. [Trumpet sounds] 
What lusty trumpet thus doth summon us ? 

Enter the Bastard [attended] 

Bastard. According to the fair play of the world, 
Let me have audience ; I am sent to speak, 
My holy lord of Milan, from the king : 120 

I come, to learn how you have dealt for him ; 
And, as you answer, I do know the scope 
And warrant limited unto my tongue. 

104. bank'd: passed the banks of. This, the most probable mean- 
ing, has the support of Murray. The word is formed on the analogy 
of ' coasted.' In The Troublesome Raigne (see Introduction, Sources) 
the Dauphin is described as sailing up the Thames : 

And from the hollow holes of Thamesis 
Eccho apace replied Vive la Roy. 

115. outlook: outface (cf. V, i, 49), outstare, defy. 



scene ii KING JOHN 105 

Pandulph. The Dauphin is too wilful-opposite, 
Ai d will not temporize with my entreaties ; 125 

He flatly says he '11 not lay down his arms. 

Bastard. By all the blood that ever fury breath'd, 
The youth says well. Now hear our English king ; 
For thus his royalty doth speak in me. 

He is prepar'd, and reason too he should : 130 

This apish and unmannerly approach, 
This harness'd masque and unadvised revel, 
This unhair'd sauciness and boyish troops, 
The king doth smile at ; and is well prepar'd 
To whip this dwarfish war, these pigmy arms, 135 

From out the circle of his territories. 
That hand which had the strength, even at your door, 
To cudgel you and make you take the hatch, 
To dive like buckets in concealed wells, 
To crouch in litter of your stable planks, 140 

To lie like pawns lock'd up in chests and trunks, 
To hug with swine, to seek sweet safety out 
In vaults and prisons, and to thrill and shake 
Even at the crying of your nation's crow, 
Thinking his voice an armed Englishman : 145 

133. unhair'd Theobald | unheard Ff. 135. these | Rowe | this Ff. 

125. temporize : yield, come to terms, succumb. The word origi- 
nally meant ' comply with the exigencies or the interests of the time.' 
130. and . . . should : and there is reason too why he should be. 

132. harness'd masque : masque in armor. — unadvised : rash, in- 
considerate, thoughtless. 

133. unhair'd: beardless, boy-faced. Spoken in contempt,of course. 
138. To . . . take: leap. With 'hatch' cf. I, i, 171. 

144. crying . . . crow. The cock (Latin gallus), the bird that crows, 
is the national bird of France (Latin Gallia). 



I06 THE NEW HUDSON SHAKESPEARE act v 

Shall that victorious hand be feebled here, 

That in your chambers gave you chastisement ? 

No : know the gallant monarch is in arms. 

And like an eagle o'er his aery towers, 

To souse annoyance that comes near his nest. 150 

And you degenerate, you ingrate revolts, 

You bloody Neroes, ripping up the womb 

Of your dear mother England, blush for shame ; 

For your own ladies and pale-visag'd maids 

Like Amazons come tripping after drums, 155 

Their thimbles into armed gauntlets change, 

Their needles to lances, and their gentle hearts 

To fierce and bloody inclination. 

Lewis. There end thy brave, and turn thy face in peace ; 
We grant thou canst outscold us : fare thee well ; 160 

We hold our time too precious to be spent 
With such a brabbler. 

Pandulph. Give me leave to speak. 

Bastard. No, I will speak. 

Lewis. We will attend to neither. 

Strike up the drums ; and let the tongue of war 
Plead for our interest and our being here. 165 

Bastard. Indeed, your drums, being beaten, will cry out ; 
And so shall you, being beaten : do but start 

149. aery: brood (of an eagle). Shakespeare never uses it in any 
other sense. Properly ' aery,' as ' aerie,' means the ' nest of any bird 
of prey.' — towers: soars into position for striking. A term from 
falconry. 

150. souse : swoop down on. Another term from falconry. 

151. ingrate revolts : ungrateful rebels. So in V, iv, 7. 
159. brave : braving of us, bravado, defiance. 

162. brabbler : noisy fellow. Rowe read ' babler ' (babbler). 



scene in KING JOHN 107 

An echo with the clamour of thy drum, 

And even at hand a drum is ready brac'd 

That shall reverberate all as loud as thine ; 170 

Sound but another, and another shall 

As loud as thine rattle the welkin's ear 

And mock the deep-mouth 'd thunder : for at hand, 

Not trusting to this halting legate here, 

Whom he hath used rather for sport than need, 175 

Is warlike John ; and in his forehead sits 

A bare-ribb'd death, whose office is this day 

To feast upon whole thousands of the French. 

Lewis. Strike up our drums, to find this danger out. 

Bastard. And thou shalt find it, Dauphin, do not doubt. 

Exeunt 180 

Scene III. [The field of battle~\ 
Alarums. Enter King John and Hubert 

King John. How goes the day with us ? O, tell me, Hubert. 
Hubert. Badly, I fear. How fares your majesty ? 
King John. This fever, that hath troubled me so long, 
Lies heavy on me ; O, my heart is sick ! 

Enter a Messenger 

Messenger. My lord, your valiant kinsman, Faulconbridge, 
Desires your majesty to leave the field 6 

And send him word by me which way you go. 

King John. Tell him, toward Swinstead, to the abbey there. 

8. Swinstead. This form of the name is found in The Trotiblesome 
Raigne. It is an error for Swineshead. 



108 THE NEW HUDSON SHAKESPEARE act v 

Messenger. Be of good comfort ; for the great supply 
That was expected by the Dauphin here, 10 

Are wreck'd three nights ago on Goodwin Sands. 
This news was brought to Richard but even now : 
The French fight coldly, and retire themselves. 

King John. Ay me ! this tyrant fever burns me up, 
And will not let me welcome this good news. 1 5 

Set on toward Swinstead : to my litter straight ; 
Weakness possesseth me, and I am faint. Exeunt 

Scene IV. [Another part of the field] 
Enter Salisbury, Pembroke, and Bigot 

Salisbury. I did not think the king so stor'd with friends. 
Pembroke. Up once again ; put spirit in the French : 
If they miscarry, we miscarry too. 

Salisbury. That misbegotten devil, Faulconbridge, 
In spite of spite, alone upholds the day. 5 

Pembroke. They say King John sore sick hath left the 
field. 

Enter Melun, wounded 

Melun. Lead me to the revolts of England here. 
Salisbury. When we were happy we had other names. 
Pembroke. It is the Count Melun. 
Salisbury. Wounded to death. 

9. supply : reenforcement, supply of troops. Hence, as a collec- 
tive noun, it admits both a singular and a plural verb, ' was expected ' 
and 'are wreck'd.' Cf. V, v, 12-13. 

13. retire. Frequently used as a transitive verb. 

5. In spite of spite : against all odds. 



scene iv KING JOHN 109 

Melun. Fly, noble English, you are bought and sold ; 
Unthread the rude eye of rebellion 11 

And welcome home again discarded faith. 
Seek out King John and fall before his feet ; 
For if the French be lords of this loud day, 
He means to recompense the pains you take 15 

By cutting off your heads : thus hath he sworn 
And I with him, and many moe with me, 
Upon the altar at Saint Edmundsbury ; 
Even on that altar where we swore to you 
Dear amity and everlasting love. 20 

Salisbury. May this be possible ? may this be true ? 

Melun. Have I not hideous death within my view, 
Retaining but a quantity of life, 
Which bleeds away, even as a form of wax 
Resolveth from his figure 'gainst the fire ? 25 

What in the world should make me now deceive, 
Since I must lose the use of all deceit ? 
Why should I then be false, since it is true 
That I must die here and live hence by truth ? 
I say again, if Lewis do win the day, 30 

He is forsworn, if e'er those eyes of yours 
Behold another day break in the east : 

10. bought and sold : played false with, betrayed. An old pro- 
verbial phrase. 

11. unthread . . . rebellion. The unthreading of a needle is used 
as a metaphor for simply undoing what has been done. Many quite 
unnecessary attempts have been made to emend the passage. 

17. moe : more. Both ' moe ' and ' more ' are common in the 
Folios. The former is used only with the plural. 

25. Resolveth: melteth. Cf. Hamlet, I, ii, 129-130: " O, that this 
too too solid flesh would melt, Thaw, and resolve itself into a dew ! " 



IIO THE NEW HUDSON SHAKESPEARE act v 

But even this night, whose black contagious breath 

Already smokes about the burning crest 

Of the old, feeble and day-wearied sun, 35 

Even this ill night, your breathing shall expire, 

Paying the fine of rated treachery 

Even with a treacherous fine of all your lives, 

If Lewis by your assistance win the day. 

Commend me to one Hubert with your king : 40 

The love of him, and this respect besides, 

For that my grandsire was an Englishman, 

Awakes my conscience to confess all this. 

In lieu whereof, I pray you, bear me hence 

From forth the noise and rumour of the field, 45 

Where I may think the remnant of my thoughts 

In peace, and part this body and my soul 

With contemplation and devout desires. 

Salisbury. We do believe thee : and beshrew my soul 
But I do love the favour and the form 50 

Of this most fair occasion, by the which 
We will untread the steps of damned flight, 
And like a bated and retired flood, 

37-38. rated : appraised at its proper value. " The Dauphin 
has 'rated' your treachery, and set upon it a 'fine' which your 
lives must pay." — Johnson. There is an obvious play on the two 
meanings of the word ' fine,' — ' penalty ' and '.end.' The same word- 
play is found in Hamlet, V, i, 113-114: "Is this the fine of his 
fines ? " 

41. respect: consideration. Cf. Ill, i, 318. 

44. In lieu whereof : in return for which. Cf. The Merchant of 
Venice, IV, i, 410. 

45. rumour : loud murmur, roar, confused noise. Cf. Julius Ccesar, 
II, iv, 18 : "I heard a bustling rumour, like a fray." 



scene v KING JOHN 1 1 1 

Leaving our rankness and irregular course, 

Stoop low within those bounds we have o'erlook'd 55 

And calmly run on in obedience 

Even to our ocean, to our great King John. 

My arm shall give thee help to bear thee hence ; 

For I do see the cruel pangs of death 

Right in thine eye. Away, my friends I New flight ; 6c 

And happy newness, that intends old right. 

Exeunt [leading off Melun] 

Scene V. \The French camp'] 
Enter Lewis and his train 

Lewis. The sun of heaven methought was loath to set, 
But stay'd and made the western welkin blush, 
When English measure backward their own ground 
In faint retire. O, bravely came we off, 
When with a volley of our needless shot, 5 

After such bloody toil, we bid good night ; 
And wound our tott'ring colours clearly up, 
Last in the field, and almost lords of it ! 

Enter a Messenger 

Messenger. Where is my prince, the Dauphin ? 
Lewis. Here : what news ? 

Messenger. The Count Melun is slain ; the English lords 
By his persuasion are again falPn off, 11 

7. tott'ring Ff | tatter'd Pope | tattering Malone Globe. 

54. rankness : overflow, exuberance (as of a swollen river). 

55. o'erlook'd: overflown, overpassed. Cf. Ill, i, 23. 
7. tott'ring. Either * waving in the air,' or ' in tatters.' 



112 THE NEW HUDSON SHAKESPEARE act v 

And your supply, which you have wish'd so long, 
Are cast away and sunk on Goodwin Sands. 

Lewis. Ah, foul shrewd news ! beshrew thy very heart ! 
I did not think to be so sad to-night 15 

As this hath made me. Who was he that said 
King John did fly an hour or two before 
The stumbling night did part our weary powers ? 

Messenger. Whoever spoke it, it is true, my lord. 

Lewis. Well ; keep good quarter and good care to-night : 
The day shall not be up so soon as I, 21 

To try the fair adventure of to-morrow. Exeunt 

Scene VI. [An op eft place in the neighbourhood of 
Swinstead Abbey\ 

Enter the Bastard and Hubert, severally 

Hubert. Who 's there ? speak, ho ! speak quickly, or I 
shoot. 

Bastard. A friend. What art thou ? 

Hubert. Of the part of England. 

Bastard. Whither dost thou go ? 

Hubert. What 's that to thee ? why may not I demand 
Of thine affairs, as well as thou of mine ? 5 

Bastard. Hubert, I think ? 

Hubert. Thou hast a perfect thought : 

I will upon all hazards well believe 

14. shrewd : sharp, biting, bitter. The original sense is ' cursed,' and 
5 beshrew' means 'a curse upon.' Cf. The Merchant of Venice, II, vi, 52. 
2. part : party, side. In III, i, 123, * party ' is used for ' part' 
6. perfect : correct. Cf. 2 Henry IV, III, i, 88. 



scene vi KING JOHN 113 

Thou art my friend, that know'st my tongue so well. 
Who art thou ? 

Bastard. Who thou wilt : and if thou please, 
Thou mayst befriend me so much as to think 10 

I come one way of the Plantagenets. 

Hubert. Unkind remembrance 1 thou and eyeless night 
Have done me shame : brave soldier, pardon me, 
That any accent breaking from thy tongue 
Should 'scape the true acquaintance of mine ear. 15 

Bastard. Come, come ; sans compliment, what news 
abroad ? 

Hubert. Why, here walk I in the black brow of night, 
To find you out. 

Bastard. Brief, then ; and what 's the news ? 

Hubert. O, my sweet sir, news fitting to the night, 
Black, fearful, comfortless and horrible. 20 

Bastard. Show me the very wound of this ill news : 
I am no woman, I '11 not swoon at it. 

Hubert. The king, I fear, is poison'd by a monk : 
I left him almost speechless ; and broke out 
To acquaint you with this evil, that you might 25 

The better arm you to the sudden time, 
Than if you had at leisure known of this. 

Bastard. How did he take it ? who did taste to him ? 

Hubert. A monk, I tell you ; a resolved villain, 

12. eyeless Theobald | endles Fi I endlesse F2F3. 

12. remembrance : memory, faculty of remembering. — eyeless : 
blind, dark. So in Markham's English Arcadia (1607) : "O eyeless 
night, the portraiture of death." And Shakespeare, in Lucrece, has 
' sightless night.' 

27. Than . . . this. Than if this knowledge had been withheld from 
you till you were more at leisure. 



114 THE NEW HUDSON SHAKESPEARE act v 

Whose bowels suddenly burst out : the king 30 

Yet speaks and peradventure may recover. 

Bastard. Who didst thou leave to tend his majesty ? 

Hubert. Why, know you not? the lords are all come 
back, 
And brought Prince Henry in their company ; 
At whose request the king hath pardon'd them, 35 

And they are all about his majesty. 

Bastard. Withhold thine indignation, mighty heaven, 
And tempt us not to bear above our power ! 
I '11 tell thee, Hubert, half my power this night, 
Passing these flats, are taken by the tide ; 40 

These Lincoln Washes have devoured them ; 
Myself, well mounted, hardly have escap'd. 
Away before : conduct me to the king ; 
I doubt he will be dead or ere I come. Exeunt 

Scene VII. \The orchard in Swinstead Abbey~\ 
Enter Prince Henry, Salisbury, and Bigot 

Prince Henry. It is too late : the life of all his blood 
Is touch'd corruptibly, and his pure brain, 
Which some suppose the soul's frail dwelling-house, 
Doth by the idle comments that it makes 
Foretell the ending of mortality. 5 

Enter Pembroke 

Pembroke. His highness yet doth speak, and holds belief 
That, being brought into the open air, 

44. doubt: fear. Cf. IV, i, 19. — or ere. Cf. IV, iii, 20. 



scene vii KING JOHN 115 

It would allay the burning quality 

Of that fell poison which assaileth him. 9 

Prince Henry. Let him be brought into the orchard here. 
Doth he still rage ? [Exit Bigot] 

Pembroke. He is more patient 

Than when you left him ; even now he sung. 

Prince Henry. O vanity of sickness ! fierce extremes 
In their continuance will not feel themselves. 
Death, having prey'd upon the outward parts, 15 

Leaves them invisible, and his siege is now 
Against the mind, the which he pricks and wounds 
With many legions of strange fantasies, 
Which, in their throng and press to that last hold, 
Confound themselves. 'T is strange that death should sing. 
I am the cygnet to this pale faint swan, 21 

Who chants a doleful hymn to his own death, 
And from the organ-pipe of frailty sings 
His soul and body to their lasting rest. 

Salisbury. Be of good comfort, prince ; for you are born 
To set a form upon that indigest 26 

Which he hath left so shapeless and so rude. 

King John is brought in 

King John. Ay, marry, now my soul hath elbow-room ; 
It would not out at windows nor at doors. 
There is so hot a summer in my bosom, 30 

That all my bowels crumble up to dust : 

17. mind Rowe I winde Fi. ax. cygnet Rowe | Symet Ff. 

14. not feel themselves : lose all sense of themselves. 
26-27. indigest . . . rude. So in Ovid's description of Chaos: 
w Quern dixere Chaos, rudis indigestaque moles." 



Il6 THE NEW HUDSON SHAKESPEARE act v 

I am a scribbled form, drawn with a pen 
Upon a parchment, and against this fire 
Do I shrink up. 

Prince Henry. How fares your majesty ? 

King John. Poison'd, — ill fare — dead, forsook, cast off: 
And none of you will bid the winter come 36 

To thrust his icy fingers in my maw, 
Nor let my kingdom's rivers take their course 
Through my burn'd bosom, nor entreat the north 
To make his bleak winds kiss my parched lips 40 

And comfort me with cold. I do not ask you much, 
I beg cold comfort ; and you are so strait 
And so ingrateful, you deny me that. 

Prince Henry. O that there were some virtue in my 
tears, 
That might relieve you ! 

King John. The salt in them is hot. 45 

Within me is a hell ; and there the poison 
Is as a fiend confin'd to tyrannize 
On unreprievable condemned blood. 

Enter the Bastard 

Bastard. O, I am scalded with my violent motion, 
And spleen of speed to see your majesty ! 50 

King John. O cousin, thou art come to set mine eye : 
The tackle of my heart is crack'd and burn'd, 
And all the shrouds wherewith my life should sail 
Are turned to one thread, one little hair : 

42. strait : stingy, niggardly. The Folios have ' straight.' 

50. spleen: heat, eagerness. Cf. II, i, 448. 

51. set mine eye : close my eye after death. 



scene vii KING JOHN 117 

My heart hath one poor string to stay it by, 55 

Which holds but till thy news be uttered ; 
And then all this thou seest is but a clod 
And module of confounded royalty. 

Bastard. The Dauphin is preparing hitherward, 
Where heaven He knows how we shall answer him ; 60 

For in a night the best part of my power, 
As I upon advantage did remove, 
Were in the Washes all unwarily 
Devoured by the unexpected flood. \The King dies] 

Salisbury. You breathe these dead news in as dead an 
ear. 65 

My liege ! my lord ! but now a king, now thus. 

Prince Henry. Even so must I run on, and even so 
stop. 
What surety of the world, what hope, what stay, 
When this was now a king, and now is clay ? 

Bastard. Art thou gone so ? I do but stay behind 70 
To do the office for thee of revenge, 
And then my soul shall wait on thee to heaven, 
As it on earth hath been thy servant still. 
Now, now, you stars that move in your right spheres, 
Where be your powers ? show now your mended faiths, 75 
And instantly return with me again, 
To push destruction and perpetual shame 
Out of the weak door of our fainting land. 
Straight let us seek, or straight we shall be sought ; 
The Dauphin rages at our very heels. 80 

58. module : image, representation. Hanmer printed ' model.' 
62. upon . . . remove. I moved for the purpose of gaining an 
advantage. Cf. II, i, 597. 



Il8 THE NEW HUDSON SHAKESPEARE act v 

Salisbury. It seems you know not, then, so much as we : 
The Cardinal Pandulph is within at rest, 
Who half an hour since came from the Dauphin, 
And brings from him such offers of our peace 
As we with honour and respect may take, 85 

With purpose presently to leave this war. 

Bastard. He will the rather do it when he sees 
Ourselves well sinewed to our defence. 

Salisbury. Nay, 't is in a manner done already ; 
For many carriages he hath dispatch'd 90 

To the sea-side, and put his cause and quarrel 
To the disposing of the cardinal : 
With whom yourself, myself and other lords, 
If you think meet, this afternoon will post 
To consummate this business happily. 95 

Bastard. Let it be so : and you, my noble prince, 
With other princes that may best be spar'd, 
Shall wait upon your father's funeral. 

Prince Henry. At Worcester must his body be interr'd ; 
For so he wilPd it. 

Bastard. Thither shall it then : 100 

And happily may your sweet self put on 
The lineal state and glory of the land ! 
To whom, with all submission, on my knee 
I do bequeath my faithful services 
And true subjection everlastingly. 105 

Salisbury. And the like tender of our love we make, 
To rest without a spot for evermore. 

99-100. According to Roger of Wendover the dying king said, " To 
God and St. Wulstan I commend my body and soul." St. Wulstan 
was Bishop of Worcester, 1062-1096. 



scene vii KING JOHN 1 19 

Prince Henry. I have a kind soul that would give you 
thanks 
And knows not how to do it but with tears. 

Bastard. O, let us pay the time but needful woe, no 
Since it hath been beforehand with our griefs. 
This England never did, nor never shall, 
Lie at the proud foot of a conqueror, 
But when it first did help to wound itself. 
Now these her princes are come home again, 115 

Come the three corners of the world in arms, 
And we shall shock them. Nought shall make us rue, 
If England to itself do rest but true. Exeunt 

108. give you thanks Rowe | give thanks Ff. 

in. Since . . . griefs : since the time has prefaced this event with 
afflictions enough. The speaker thinks they have already suffered so 
much that now they ought to give way to sorrow as little as may be. 

112-118. In the closing lines of The Troublesome Raigne is heard the 
same note of noble patriotism, with an undertone of solemn warning. 
It is the note that vibrates through all great patriotic literature, from 
the utterances of the Hebrew prophets to The Recessional. 



INDEX 



This Index includes the most important words, phrases, etc. explained in 
the notes. The figures in heavy-faced type refer to the pages ; those in plain 
type, to the lines containing what is explained. 



a : 6 68. 24 136 

a bastard to the time : 

13 207 
a landless knight : 11 

177 
abortives : 69 158 
Absey book : 12 196 
abstract : 22 101 
acquainted . . . land : 

103 89 
Act I, Scene i : 3 
advis'd respect: 86 214 
aery : 106 149 
affecteth : 7 86 
affliction : 64 36 
airy devil : 58 2 
Alcides' shows: 24 144 
all as soon : 20 59 
all . . . authority : 50 

159-160 
amazement : 97 35 
and I had his, etc.: 9 

139 
and if : 74 54 
and should : 105 130 
angels : 43 590, 59 8 
answer'd : 81 89 
apparent : 81 93 
are brief in hand : 95 

158 
armado : 62 2 
arras : 71 2 
Arthur : 17 2 
articles : 22 ill 



as an ague's fit : 66 85 

assur'd : 41 535 

Ate : 20 63 

Austria : 17 1 

aweless : 16 266 

babe of clouts : 65 58 

bad world the while : 
81 ioo 

bank'd : 104 104 

battles : 80 78 

beadle : 26 188 

beholding : 15 239 

being none of his: 8 127 

bell . . . candle : 59 12 

between . . . con- 
science : 80 77 

blood : 56 301 

borrowed : 3 4 

bottoms : 20 73 

bought and sold: 109 10 

bounce : 38 462 

brabbler : 106 162 

brave : 101 44, 106 159 

brief : 73 35 

brooded : 61 52 

but : 47 92 

but we will : 19 43 

by . . . oath : 55 281-283 

by truth : 10 169 

call : 70 174 

canker : 100 14 

canker sorrow : 66 82 

cank'red : 27 194 

cannon : 19 37 



Chatillon: 2 

Christendom : 72 16 

cincture : 95 155 

clap ... up : 53 235 

clippeth : 100 34 

close aspect : 80 72 

closely : 77 133 

cock'red silken wan- 
ton: 99 70 

coil : 25 165 

Colbrand : 14 225 

coldly : 19 53 

compulsion : 101 44 

conceit : 61 50 

conduct : 4 29 

convertite : 97 19 

convicted : 62 2 

copy: 82 113 

correct : 21 87 

counties : 96 8 

covetousness : 78 29 

cracker : 24 147 

crier : 24 134 

cry, havoc : 33 357 

crying . . . crow : 105 
144 

damn'd as black : 94 
121 

dear : 16 257 

defy : 63 23 

departed : 42 563 

disallow of: 4 16 

discipline : 19 39 

dishabited : 28 220 



122 



THE NEW HUDSON SHAKESPEARE 



dispiteous : 73 34 
displeasure : 98 60 
distemper'd : 89 21 
distemper'd day: 69 154 
do not prove me so : 92 

90 
do thee right: 18 18 
doubt: 72 19, 81 102, 

114 44 
doubtless : 77 130 
draw: 22 ill 
ear : 60 39 

ear ... a rose : 9 142 
Elinor: 2 
enforced : 100 30 
equal potents : 34 358 
evilly borne : 68 149 
excuse : 23 119 
exhalation : 69 153 
expedient : 20 60 
expedition : 21 79 
eye : 43 583 
eyeless : 113 12 
fair fall : 6 78 
fall over : 49 127 
fearful : 82 106 
feature : 23 126 
fell anatomy : 64 40 
fire . . . extremes : 76 

106-108 
fire . . . new-burn'd : 

55 277-278 
flesh : 99 71 
fondly : 29 258 
foot : 81 100 
for ... it: 54 270- 

273 
for . . . spake : 102 

60-64 
force perforce : 49 142 
form . . . head : 66 101 
from: 22 ill 
gilt: 32 316 
gives the bastinado : 

38 463 
glory : 33 350 



God-a-mercy : 11 185 
good den : 11 185 
good leave, good Philip: 

14 231 
good my liege : 8 114 
good my mother: 15 

249 
gracious : 65 81 
griefs : 90 29 
guard : 78 io 
half that face : 7 93 
half-fac'd groat : 7 94 
half-face : 7 92 
harness'd masque: 105 

132 
hatch : 11 171 
heat : 74 61 
her : 63 18 
her sin : 26 187 
hide : 24 136 
high tides in the calen- 
dar : 47 86 
him: 89 11 
his : 22 95, 69 156, 90 

32, 33 
horn : 13 219 
how . . . England : 82 

109-110 
humours : 20 66 
huntsmen . . . purple 

hands : 32 321-323 
hurly : 70 169 
I ... do : 66 100 
if . . . hold : 79 55 
if that : 21 89 
imaginary : 88 265 
importance : 17 7 
imprisoned . . . liberty : 

59 8-9 
in lieu whereof: 110 44 
in my behaviour : 3 3 
in spite of spite : 108 5 
in this burning : 76 

109 
indenture : 18 20 
indifferency : 43 579 



indigest . . . rude : 115 

26-27 
indirectly : 19 49 
infortunate : 26 178 
ingrate revolts : 106 

151 
interrogatories : 50 147 
it : 25 160 

just and lineal : 21 85 
kept . . . from all the 

world : 8 123-124 
King Philip : 24 149 
Kings of our fear : 34 

371 
Knight . . . Basilisco- 

like : 15 244 
Lady Blanch : 37 431 
large composition: 7 88 
let me alone : 75 85 
liable : 103 101 
life . . . tale : 67 108 
like the . . . the hour : 

73 46 
likes : 41 533 
lions . . . motion : 37 

452-453 
make up : 58 5 
makes nice : 68 138 
manage : 4 37 
me: 71 l 
measures . . . pomp : 

56 304 
meteors : 69 157 
minion : 35 392 
modern : 64 42 
module : 117 58 
moe : 109 17 
more : 18 34 
more circumstance : 21 

mortal : 54 259 
motion : 13 212 
mousing : 33 354 
muse : 57 317 
mutines : 35 378 
near or far off : 11 174 



INDEX 



123 



niece : 20 64 

no had : 86 207 

no scope of nature : 69 

154 
Nob : 10 147 
nor . . . defence : 92 84 
not feel themselves : 

115 14 
observation : 13 208 
o'erlook'd : 111 55 
offer : 29 258 
on the hazards : 8 119 
once superfluous : 77 4 
only for wantonness : 

72 16 
or ere : 89 20, 114 44 
ordinance : 28 218 
outlook: 104 115 
owe : 22 109 
owes : 29 248 
part: 112 2 
passionate : 41 544 
peised : 42 575 
perfect: 112 6 
peril . . . light : 56 295 
Philip : 58 5 
Philip, sparrow: 14 231 
picked : 12 193 
Plantagenet : 10 162 
practises : 72 20 
precedent : 99 3 
presence : 9 137 
private : 89 16 
prodigious : 45 46 
prodigiously be cross'd : 

47 91 
proper : 15 250 
propertied : 103 79 
Pyrenean : 12 203 
quoted : 86 222 
rail . . . Commodity : 

43 587 
rankness : 111 54 
rated : 110 37-38 
reason : 90 29 
rebuke : 17 9 



recreant : 49 129 
regreet : 53 241 
remembrance : 113 12 
remorse : 91 50 
resolv'd : 34 371 
resolveth : 109 25 
respect: 60 28, 66 90, 

101 44, 110 41 
respects : 57 318 
retire : 108 13 
rheum : 72 33 
riding-rods : 9 140 
rounded : 42 566 
roundure : 29 259 
rub : 67 128 
rumour : 110 45 
safety : 84 158 
Saint George : 30 288- 

289 
scamble : 95 146 
scath : 20 75 
scroyles : 34 373 
secure : 18 27, 77 130 
set mine eye : 116 51 
she ... he : 37 435-436 
shrewd : 112 14 
sick service : 73 52 
sightless : 45 45 
silverly : 101 46 
since . . . griefs : 119 

111 
smacks . . . policy : 35 

396 
so new a fashion'd 

robe : 78 27 
something about : 11 

170 
soul-fearing : 35 383 
souse : 106 150 
spleen : 116 50 
spot : 100 30 
states : 35 395 
stay : 38 455 
stay'd : 20 58 
still : 18 27 
still and anon : 73 47 



stoop : 46 69 
stout : 84 173 
strait : 116 42 
strew the footsteps : 

13 216 
strong in both : 53 240 
sullen : 4 28 
supply : 108 9 
swing'd : 30 288 
Swinstead : 107 8 
table : 39 503 
take a truce : 44 17 
tarre: 76 117 
temporize : 105 125 
than . . . this : 113 27 
that lamentable rheum: 

45 22 
that . . . occasions : 79 

61-62 
that pale . . . shore : 

18 23 
the king's deceas'd : 

20 65 
their . . . beats : 21 88 
them : 79 50 
then : 79 42 
this : 22 106 
thy brother Geffrey's 

face : 22 99 
tickling Commodity : 

42 573 
times : 91 54 
't is . . . conversion : 

12 188-189 
to : 9 144 

to cry aim : 27 196 
to know . . . right : 

103 88 
to spend : 101 39 
to . . . swear : 55 287 
to . . . take : 105 138 
to . . . will : 65 68 
toasting-iron : 93 99 
tongue : 54 258 
to-night : 81 85 
took it : 8 110 



124 



THE NEW HUDSON SHAKESPEARE 



toothpick : 12 190 
topful of offence : 70 

180 
tott'ring : 111 7 
towers: 33 350, 106 

149 
toys : 14 232 
train : 70 175 
traveller : 12 189 
trick : 6 85 
true blood : 68 147 
trumpet : 4 27 
unacquainted : 70 166 
unadvis'd: 19 45, 105 

132 
unadvised : 27 191 



under-wrought : 22 95 
unhair'd : 105 133 
unowed : 95 147 
unstained : 18 16 
unthread . . . rebellion: 

109n 
upon . . . land : 98 66 
upon my party : 49 123 
upon . . . remove : 117 

62 
vast : 95 152 
vile . . . breath : 63 19 
voluntaries : 20 67 
vows ... is : 55 288- 

289 
waft : 20 73 



wall-eyed : 91 49 
water-walled bulwark: 

18 27 
What . . . king: 50 

147-148 
what though : 10 169 
whe'er : 6 75 
which . . . learn : 13 

214-215 
wince : 75 81 
with . . . dispos'd: 63 

11 
with occasion : 21 82 
wreck : 47 92 
yet : 92 91 
you : 68 146 



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